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279:, one of Lowell's unofficial biographers, this section was begun as a potentially therapeutic assignment suggested by Lowell's therapist. Lowell also stated that this prose exercise led him to the stylistic breakthrough of the poems in Part IV. The apartment at 91 Revere Street in Beacon Hill still exists and is noted by a Boston
324:." However, the majority of the poems in this section revolve around Lowell's family with a particular emphasis on the troubled marriage of his parents (as Lowell established in Part II). Lowell's maternal grandfather, Arthur Winslow, also receives significant attention in poems like "Dunbarton" and "Grandparents."
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neighborhood at 91 Revere Street. The piece, which is the longest one in the book, also focuses on his parents' marriage as well as young Lowell's relationship with his parents, other relatives, and his childhood peers. Notable characters in the piece include Lowell's great-grandfather
Mordecai Myers
311:
contains the majority of the book's poems and is given the subheading of "Life
Studies." These poems are the ones that critics refer to as "confessional." These "confessional" poems are the ones that document Lowell's struggle with mental illness and include pieces like
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contains only one piece which is titled "91 Revere Street" and is the first (and only) significant passage of prose to appear in one of Lowell's books of poems. It centers, with intricate detail, on Lowell's childhood when his family was living in Boston's
174:, one condition being that the first edition must be British. Because of the rush to release the book in Britain, the British first edition does not include the "91 Revere Street" section. The first American edition was published in
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402:, this intense breakthrough into very serious, very personal, emotional experience which I feel has been partly taboo. Robert Lowell's poems about his experience in a mental hospital, for example, interested me very much."
305:. At the time that Lowell published these poems, only Schwartz was still alive, and with the exception of Hart Crane, Lowell knew all of them personally and considered them to be mentors at different stages of his career.
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supports this contention stating that, "For these poems, the question of propriety no longer exists. They have made a conquest: what they have won is a major expansion of the territory of poetry."
229:," as well as a move away from the traditional, dense, more impersonal style of poetry that characterized Lowell's writing while he was still a practicing Catholic and closely associated with
221:. They are well-polished, formal in their use of meter and rhyme, and fairly impersonal. This first section can be interpreted as a transition section, signaling Lowell's move away from
558:
Orr, Peter, ed. "The Poet Speaks - Interviews with
Contemporary Poets Conducted by Hilary Morrish, Peter Orr, John Press and Ian Scott-Kilvert". London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966.
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as having had a profound influence over the poetry she was writing at that time (and which her husband would publish posthumously as
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a few years later), stating, "I've been very excited by what I feel is the new breakthrough that came with, say, Robert Lowell's
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268:, specifically in the poems "Sailing Home from Rapallo" and "Commander Lowell" as well as the prose piece "91 Revere Street."
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question the accuracy of the confessional label. However, no one questions the book's lasting influence. The prominent poet
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Lowell's mother, Charlotte
Winslow Lowell, in 1915. Along with Lowell's father and grandfather, she is a central subject in
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140:, and others) consider it one of Lowell's most important books, and the Academy of American Poets named it one of their
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245:, Lowell introduced his reading of "Beyond the Alps" by stating that, " a declaration of my faith or lack of faith."
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had an especially profound impact that is discernible not only in the poetry of his direct contemporaries, such as
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of the book contains four poems that are similar in style and tone to the poems of Lowell's previous books,
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is viewed as one of the first confessional books of poetry, although some poets and poetry critics such as
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484:(With acceptance speech by Lowell and essay by Dilruba Ahmed from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)
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417:, but also in the treatment of biographical detail by countless poets who followed." John Thompson in
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also sets the stage for the portraits of his family members in the book's final section. According to
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Lowell as a child with his father, Commander Robert Traill Spence Lowell III, around 1920. In
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The website for the
Academy for American Poets states that, "Lowell's work in
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Thompson, John, "Two Poets",Kenyon Review 21 (1959) pages 482 – 490.
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The
Wounded Surgeon: Confession and Transformation in Six American Poets
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343:" which first applied the term "confessional" to Lowell's approach in
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198:, Lowell writes about his father in a number of pieces including "
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noted this tremendous influence when he wrote, in a 1985 essay, "
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497:. New York: Academy of American Poets Archive, 1963. 88 minutes.
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170:. This was to allow for it to be entered for selection by the
371:. . . perhaps the most influential book of modern verse since
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Helen
Vendler Lecture on Lowell. Poets.org. 18 November 2009
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and his father's Navy buddy, Commander Billy
Harkness.
571:"Groundbreaking Poets: Life Studies. No author listed"
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241:. Notably, at a 1963 poetry reading at the
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151:Lowell's "most original book." It won the
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547:Next-to-Last Things: New Poems and Essays
532:Bidart, Frank. "On Confessional Poetry."
549:. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1985.
432:
347:, and led to the name of the school of
16:1959 poetry collection by Robert Lowell
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534:The Collected Poems of Robert Lowell
510:. New York: Faber & Faber, 1982.
384:In a 1962 interview with Peter Orr,
493:Lowell, Robert and John Berryman.
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675:The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket
166:was first published in London by
289:contains odes to four writers:
124:is the fourth book of poems by
153:National Book Award for Poetry
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523:New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.
476:"National Book Awards – 1960"
661:Home After Three Months Away
388:specifically cited Lowell's
318:Home After Three Months Away
283:as Lowell's childhood home.
799:American poetry collections
714:The Mills of The Kavanaughs
212:The Mills of the Kavanaughs
100:The Mills of The Kavanaughs
69:Farrar, Straus & Giroux
820:
128:. Most critics (including
495:Guggenheim Poetry Reading
202:" and "91 Revere Street."
180:Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
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482:. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
480:National Book Foundation
182:based in New York City.
794:Works by Robert Lowell
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508:Robert Lowell: A Life
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142:Groundbreaking Books.
341:Poetry as Confession
134:Steven Gould Axelrod
707:Lord Weary's Castle
351:. For this reason,
349:Confessional poetry
218:Lord Weary's Castle
172:Poetry Book Society
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773:Caroline Blackwood
763:Elizabeth Hardwick
728:For the Union Dead
700:Land of Unlikeness
668:Waking in the Blue
335:wrote a review of
322:Waking in the Blue
273:"91 Revere Street"
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204:
781:
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545:Kunitz, Stanley.
420:The Kenyon Review
328:Critical response
281:historical marker
243:Guggenheim Museum
239:John Crowe Ransom
168:Faber & Faber
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85:Publication place
47:Cover artist
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573:. Archived from
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577:on 2010-05-29
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20:Life Studies
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579:. Retrieved
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411:Sylvia Plath
407:Life Studies
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400:Life Studies
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390:Life Studies
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386:Sylvia Plath
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369:Life Studies
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361:Frank Bidart
353:Life Studies
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345:Life Studies
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339:, entitled "
337:Life Studies
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277:Ian Hamilton
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266:Life Studies
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121:Life Studies
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50:Frank Parker
441:"Poets.org"
415:Anne Sexton
357:Adam Kirsch
254:Beacon Hill
233:poets like
223:Catholicism
159:Publication
138:Adam Kirsch
788:Categories
654:Skunk Hour
581:2007-07-29
451:2007-07-29
314:Skunk Hour
291:Hart Crane
235:Allen Tate
427:Footnotes
155:in 1960.
65:Publisher
287:Part III
55:Language
756:Related
536:. 2003.
320:" and "
309:Part IV
249:Part II
186:Content
147:called
59:English
301:, and
207:Part I
102:
37:Author
692:Books
639:Poems
395:Ariel
738:Play
413:and
359:and
316:", "
237:and
215:and
176:1959
80:1959
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178:by
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