Clayton Eshleman facts for kids

Clayton Eshleman (born June 1, 1935 – died January 29 or 30, 2021) was an American poet, translator, and editor. He was especially known for his translations of the poet César Vallejo. He also studied cave painting and the art of the Paleolithic (Ice Age) period. Eshleman received many awards for his work, including the National Book Award for Translation and the Landon Translation prize. He also earned a Guggenheim Fellowship for his poetry.

A Poet's Journey: Clayton Eshleman's Life

Early Years (1935-1962)

Clayton Eshleman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 1, 1935. His father worked at a meat-packing company. Growing up, Clayton was taught piano and drawing. He also played football, ran track, and wrestled in high school. During summers, he worked as a lifeguard.

In 1951, Clayton discovered jazz music and loved artists like Bud Powell. He started spending time in jazz clubs and playing jazz himself. In 1953, he went to Indiana University to study music. He joined a fraternity, and some difficult experiences there later inspired his poetry.

Clayton traveled to Los Angeles in 1954 to study jazz piano. When he returned to Indiana University, he changed his major several times, finally settling on Philosophy.

He found his passion for poetry in creative writing classes at Indiana University. He learned about American poets and, through friends, discovered world poetry from places like Spain and Russia. He also connected with many important poets of his time, like William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg.

Clayton graduated with a Philosophy degree in 1958. He continued his studies in English Literature. He published his first poem in a student magazine and later became its editor. In 1960, he gave his first poetry reading in New York City.

His interest in Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo led him to learn Spanish in Mexico City during the summers of 1959 and 1960. He began translating Neruda's poems. In 1961, he earned a Master's degree in Creative Writing. He married Barbara Novak and started teaching English to military personnel in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea.

Becoming a Poet and Editor (1962-1972)

In 1962, Clayton moved to Kyoto, Japan, where he taught English. This time in Japan was very important for his poetry. He began translating César Vallejo's Poemas humanos. He also started writing a long series of his own poems, which later became his book Coils (1973). During this time, he studied famous writers like William Blake and learned about world mythology. He had a special experience involving a spider, which he felt confirmed his path as a poet.

While in Kyoto, he became friends with other artists and poets like Gary Snyder. He also published his first books, including a translation of Neruda's work.

In 1964, the Eshlemans moved to Lima, Peru. Clayton hoped to study Vallejo's original writings, but Vallejo's widow did not allow him access. His translation of Human Poems was published in 1968. Walking through the poor areas of Lima made him more aware of social issues. He tried to edit a literary magazine there, but it was stopped for political reasons.

His son, Matthew, was born in Peru in 1966. After some health problems for Barbara, the family moved back to Indiana briefly, then to New York City. Clayton and Barbara separated that fall.

Clayton taught at New York University and was very involved in the city's art scene.

Caterpillar Magazine

From 1966 to 1967, Clayton published several books under his own "Caterpillar Books" label. In 1967, he started his own magazine called Caterpillar. He published it regularly until 1970 and then sometimes until 1973. This magazine was very important for poets writing in a new, modern style.

Clayton also joined the anti-war movement. He helped organize protests and was arrested during a demonstration at St. Patrick's Cathedral. He also participated in poetry readings to raise money for people who refused to join the army.

He made many new friends in the art world during these years. In 1968, he met John Martin, who became the main publisher of his writings. In 1970, Clayton and his second wife, Caryl Reiter, moved to California. Clayton began teaching at the California Institute of the Arts. He taught about poetry and other subjects.

In 1972, Clayton began working with José Rubia Barcia to translate more of César Vallejo's poetry. He also started translating the works of Antonin Artaud.

Inspired by a book about the writer Rabelais, Clayton organized his earlier poems into the book Coils, which came out in 1973. This marked the end of a project he started over ten years earlier in Japan. He also published the final issue of Caterpillar that year.

Exploring Ancient Art (1973-1986)

In the summer of 1973, the Eshlemans moved to France for a year. They taught American poetry in Paris.

In 1974, they visited the Dordogne region of France and saw the famous Lascaux cave paintings. Clayton decided to deeply study the art and imagination of the Ice Age people. This became a major part of his work for the next thirty years. It led to his important book, Juniper Fuse: Upper Paleolithic Imagination and the Construction of the Underworld, published in 2003. He visited many other painted caves, and his research was supported by grants from various foundations. Starting in 1981, he and Caryl led tours of the painted caves for others.

In 1974, the Eshlemans returned to Los Angeles. Clayton taught at the University of California and later became a poet-in-residence at the California Institute of Technology. He also taught as a visiting lecturer at other universities.

While studying cave art, Clayton continued his translation work. With José Rubia Barcia, he finished new translations of César Vallejo's Complete Posthumous Poetry. This book won the National Book Award for Translation in 1979. He also translated works by Antonin Artaud and, with Annette Smith, the complete poetry of Aimé Césaire. This translation work also won awards.

The Eshlemans traveled widely in Europe, visiting places like Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Spain.

Clayton also began writing book reviews for the Los Angeles Times in 1979. He and Caryl wrote travel articles for various magazines and newspapers. From 1983 to 1984, Clayton edited a monthly poetry column for the Los Angeles Weekly.

Sulfur Magazine

In 1981, Clayton founded his second major magazine, Sulfur: A Literary Tri-Quarterly of the Whole Art. This journal published 46 issues over nearly 20 years, with the last issue appearing in 2000. Sulfur received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Later Years and Legacy (1986-2021)

In 1986, Clayton Eshleman became a Professor of English at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He taught poetry courses there.

That year, he traveled to Hungary and helped translate a collection of Hungarian poetry. Over the next few years, he published several collections of his own poems, essays, and translations.

For the next fifteen years, Clayton shared his work at colleges and poetry conferences across North America and Europe. He often spent several months each year as a visiting poet at different institutions. He also continued his research on the Paleolithic painted caves.

He kept working with Annette Smith to translate the poetry of Aimé Césaire. In 1992, he published his translation of César Vallejo's Trilce, which won an award in 2000. He also translated more works by Antonin Artaud.

In 1997, while visiting Lascaux cave, Clayton was allowed to explore a special part of the cave. He felt that his long study of the painted caves was now complete.

Some of his major poetry collections from these years include Hotel Cro-Magnon (1989) and Under World Arrest (1994). In 2000, the final issue of Sulfur magazine was published.

In 2003, Clayton Eshleman became an Emeritus Professor at Eastern Michigan University. That same year, he published Juniper Fuse, the result of over 25 years of research on the painted caves.

Even after retiring from full-time teaching, he continued to travel and present his work. From 2004 to 2008, he and Caryl again led tours of the painted caves in France. In 2004, he was invited to visit the famous Chauvet cave. He also spent time in Italy studying a painting by Hieronymus Bosch.

In his later years, Clayton published more of his own poetry, new translations, and collections of his essays. In 2007, the University of California Press released his translation of César Vallejo, The Complete Poetry. This book was the result of 45 years of work and won him his second Landon Translation Prize.

Some of his recent poetry books include My Devotion (2004) and An Anatomy of the Night (2011). He also published collections of his essays. The Grindstone of Rapport: A Clayton Eshleman Reader (2008) brought together many of his poems, essays, and translations from 45 years of writing.

Clayton Eshleman lived with Caryl Eshleman in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He passed away on January 29 or 30, 2021.

Literary Work

Clayton Eshleman began translating poetry in the early 1960s. He and José Rubia Barcia worked together on The Complete Posthumous Poetry of César Vallejo (1978). This book won the U.S. National Book Award for Translation. He also translated books by Aimé Césaire (with Annette Smith), Pablo Neruda, Antonin Artaud, and others. In 2006, his translation of The Complete Poetry of Cesar Vallejo was published and received much praise. It won the 2008 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award.

Eshleman also founded and edited two very important literary magazines. Caterpillar magazine had twenty issues between 1967 and 1973. In 1981, he founded Sulfur magazine, which published forty-six issues until 2000. These magazines were known for featuring new and experimental poetry.

His work is sometimes linked to a group of poets called "ethno-poeticists," who explore the connections between poetry and different cultures. Throughout his life, his poems and essays appeared in over 500 literary magazines and newspapers. He also read his work at more than 200 universities.

In 2005, Clayton and his wife Caryl stayed at the Rockefeller Study Center in Bellagio, Italy. There, he studied Hieronymus Bosch's famous painting, "The Garden of Earthly Delights".

Cave Art Studies

For more than thirty years, Clayton Eshleman dedicated himself to studying the Ice Age cave art found in southwestern France. His deep research into these ancient paintings became a major focus of his writing and thinking.