Biography

Preston Butler Salamone 13 March 2012 Biography Philip Levine  Philip Levine is truly a great poet as shown by having the title of Poet laureate of 2011-2012 (Wikipedia). He earned this title from winning numerous amounts of awards in previous years that include: 1977 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, 1978 Harriet Monroe Memorial Prize from Poetry, 1980 National Book Award for Poetry, 1980 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, 1981 Levinson Prize from Poetry Magazine, 1987 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from Modern Poetry Association and the American Council for the Arts, and the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (Wikipedia). But, Philip Levine’s life was not always filled with poetry.  Born to Jewish immigrant Parents in Detroit, Michigan, in 1928, he was the middle child of three brothers (Wikipedia). He faced anti-Semitism by the pro-Hitler radio priest Father Coughlin as well (Wikipedia). Sadly, when he was only five years old his father died (Wikipedia). Living in Great Depression times he began working in a car manufacturing plant at the age of 14 (Wikipedia). After graduating high school he attended Wayne University Detroit, in 1946. This is where he starts to write great poetry. Later in 1950 he received his Bachelors in Arts (B.A) and graduated one year later (Wikipedia). The University of Iowa had not seen the last of Philip Levine when he returned in 1957 to teach technical writing. He completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in the same year. The years following were filled with a life devoted to poetry.  As well as winning awards for individual pieces of poetry Phillip writes award winning poetry books. Some of these books include: //The Simple Truth// (1994) won the Pulitzer prize, //What Work Is// (1991) won the National Book Cities Circle Award, //7 Years from Somewhere// (1979) won the National Book Critics Circle Award, //The Names of the Last// (1975) won the 1977 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets (Poetry Foundation). There is no wonder why he receives all of these awards for his work. Phillip Levine has a style of writing in a way in which he digs deep within his memories to bring out specific memories of his past and describes them so vividly through poetry. “The language, the figures of speech, the narrative progressions are never so obscure, so truncated as to forbid less sophisticated readers” (Poetry Foundation). He converts the language he uses in such a way that it makes it relative to people’s lives. Phillip Levine earns his title of Poet Laureate for 2011-2012.  Levine talks about how life was in his early years during the Great Depression and expresses his feelings about some moments that he had to go through during that time by writing poetry. He radiates his emotions through poetry in such a way that the reader feels those same emotions he had felt. Philip Levine truly is an inspirational poet that can change the mood a person is feeling after they have finished reading his poetic writing.

Works Cited “Philip Levine.” Poetry Foundation. 7 January. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.   “Philip Levine.” //Wikipedia//. 6 Mar. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. 