Walter Lowenfels letters to Allen De Loach

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0099-F0870

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

In this collection of nineteen letters, American poet Walter Lowenfels wrote to his editor Allen De Loach, praising him for recent editorial work on Lowenfels's autobiography and discussing his writing and the work of other poets, particularly Walt Whitman and "poets of old age."

These letters were written between 1965 and 1970, a period when the two worked on several projects, including De Loach's editing of We Are All Poets Really, and several volumes of Lowenfels's autobiography. Lowenfels referred to his autobiography as the "Premature Inquest," and in several of the letters he discussed De Loach's editorial work on the manuscripts. The manuscripts occasionally served as an impetus for reflection on the development of his poetic style or reminiscences on his experiences in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s.

Lowenfels wrote about the other writers he knew, such as those from his Paris days, namely Henry Miller, T. S. Eliot, and Victor Fraenkel. He also mentioned other poets such as Denise Levertov, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, and Ezra Pound. He was especially interested in "poets of old age," which is what he considered himself.

Occasionally Lowenfels alluded to his political views and the lack of support from the political left for his writing. His letters suggest that his commitment to including social criticism and political perspective in his poetry and other writing was unflagging.

Dates

Creation: 1965-1970
Creation: Majority of material found within 1968-1970

Creator

Lowenfels, Walter, 1897-1976 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Walter Lowenfels (1897-1976)

American poet, anthologist, and social critic Walter Lowenfels wrote poetry that reflected social commentary and political thought.

For a number of years, Lowenfels edited the Communist Daily Worker. Based on his membership in the Communist Party, Lowenfels was convicted in 1954 for conspiring to teach and advocate the overthrow of the U.S. Government by force. The verdict was later overturned when party membership was ruled not to be conspiratorial in nature.

Lowenfels has been recognized as an anthologist of avant-garde poetry, including Where is Vietnam?, a 1967 compilation of the poetic responses to the Vietnam War. This anthology and his editorial contributions to the anti-war publication Dialog, reflected his own anti-Vietnam War convictions.

Born May 10, 1897, in New York City, Lowenfels died on July 7, 1976, in Tarrytown, New York. He was married to Lillian Apotheker.

Allen De Loach

American editor, publisher, and writer Allen De Loach, who edited Walter Lowenfels book, We Are All Poets Really (1968), was also Lowenfels's literary executor and friend. De Loach' s primary interest was social history but other interests included the poetics of the Beats and Black Mountain poets, ethnoPoetics, Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams.

"Walter Lowenfels." Contemporary Authors Online (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed July 2010). "Allen Wayne De Loach." Contemporary Authors Online (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed July 2010).