George Oppen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George Oppen
December 1980 Berkeley, CA (Photo by Richard Friedman)
Born	(1908-04-24)April 24, 1908 New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Died	July 7, 1984(1984-07-07) (aged 76) California, U.S.
Education	Oregon State University
Occupation	Poet, cabinet maker

George Oppen (born April 24, 1908 – died July 7, 1984) was an American poet. He is well-known as a member of the Objectivist group of poets.

He stopped writing poetry in the 1930s to focus on political work. In 1950, he moved to Mexico to avoid attention from the House Un-American Activities Committee. He started writing poetry again in 1958 and returned to the United States. In 1969, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, a very important award.

Early Life and Adventures

George Oppen was born in New Rochelle, New York, into a Jewish family. His father was a successful diamond merchant. The family was quite wealthy, and George had a comfortable childhood. He enjoyed things like horse riding and trips to Europe.

George learned to sail when he was young. The ocean views near his home influenced his later poems. He also learned carpentry from the family butler. As an adult, Oppen worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker.

In 1917, his family moved to San Francisco. George went to Warren Military Academy. During his teenage years, George faced some difficult times and challenges. He was involved in a serious car accident and was later expelled from high school. After this, he traveled alone to England and Scotland. He visited a relative and attended lectures at the St. Andrews.

In 1926, Oppen began attending Oregon State University. There, he met Mary Colby in a poetry class. She was a very independent young woman. They both loved poetry, especially after hearing Carl Sandburg read his poem "Fog." On their first date, they stayed out all night, which led to Mary being expelled and George being suspended. They left Oregon, got married, and began traveling across the country. They worked at different jobs along the way. Mary wrote about these experiences in her book, Meaning A Life: An Autobiography (1978).

Starting as a Writer

While traveling, Oppen began writing poems. He published them in small local magazines. In 1929 and 1930, he and Mary lived in New York for a while. There, they met other writers and artists like Louis Zukofsky and Charles Reznikoff.

In 1929, George received some money from an inheritance. This gave him some financial freedom. In 1930, George and Mary moved to California and then to France. With their money, they helped start a publishing company called To Publishers. They worked as printers and publishers, with Zukofsky as the editor. This company didn't last long, but it published important works by poets like William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound.

Oppen also started writing poems for his first book, Discrete Series. This book became very important for the early Objectivist poets. Some of his poems appeared in Poetry magazine in 1931. They were also in an anthology called An "Objectivist's" Anthology in 1932.

George Oppen and the Objectivists

In 1933, the Oppens returned to New York. George Oppen, William Carlos Williams, Louis Zukofsky, and Charles Reznikoff created the Objectivist Press. This press published books by Reznikoff and Williams. It also published Oppen's first book, Discrete Series, which had a special introduction written by Ezra Pound.

Politics and War Service

During the tough times of the Great Depression and the rise of fascism, the Oppens became very involved in political action. George felt he couldn't write poems that were just political messages. So, he stopped writing poetry for a while. He joined the Communist Party USA, a political group that aimed to help workers. He helped manage election campaigns and organize worker actions, like a milk strike in New York. He was involved in activities to support worker's rights and faced legal challenges, but he was cleared.

By 1942, Oppen was working in a defense industry. He was not required to join the military at first. However, he became unhappy with the Communist Party. He wanted to help fight against fascism, so he left his job to become eligible for the draft. He volunteered for duty and served in important battles during World War II. He fought on the Maginot Line and in the Ardennes. He was seriously wounded near Bad Urach, Germany.

Soon after Oppen was wounded, his army division helped free people from a prison camp at Landsberg am Lech. He received the Purple Heart medal for his injuries. He returned to New York in 1946.

Life in Mexico

After the war, Oppen worked as a carpenter and cabinet maker. Even though he was less involved in politics, the Oppens knew their past might attract attention from the government. To avoid problems, they decided to move to Mexico. During their years in Mexico, George ran a small furniture-making business. They were also part of a community of American people living abroad. Mexican authorities watched them because of their past political activities. In 1958, the U.S. government allowed them to get passports again. This meant they could return to the United States.

Back to Poetry

In 1958, the Oppens thought about staying in Mexico and working in real estate. But they also considered moving back to the United States. This made them both feel worried. Mary started seeing a therapist. During one of her visits, George told the therapist about a dream he had. The therapist helped George understand that the dream had a special meaning. This meaning encouraged Oppen to start writing poetry again.

Oppen also said other things led him back to the U.S. and to poetry. One reason was his daughter's well-being, as she was starting college at Sarah Lawrence. After a short trip in 1958 to visit their daughter, the Oppens moved to Brooklyn, New York, in early 1960. They still visited Mexico regularly for a while.

Back in Brooklyn, Oppen reconnected with old friends like Louis Zukofsky and Charles Reznikoff. He also made friends with many younger poets. Poems started flowing from him quickly. Within two years, Oppen had enough poems for a new book. He began publishing them in Poetry magazine, where he had first published, and in his half-sister June Oppen Degnan's San Francisco Review.

Oppen's first book after returning to poetry was The Materials. He told his sister June that these poems should have been written ten years earlier. Oppen published two more poetry collections in the 1960s: This In Which (1965) and Of Being Numerous (1968). The latter book won him the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1969.

Later Years

In 1975, Oppen finished his Collected Poems. This book also included a new section called "Myth of the Blaze." In 1977, Mary helped George complete his final book of poetry, Primitive. Around this time, George began to show signs of Alzheimer's disease. He experienced confusion, memory loss, and other difficulties. The disease eventually made it impossible for him to continue writing.

George Oppen passed away at age 76 on July 7, 1984, in California. He died from pneumonia, with complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Works

• Discrete Series (1934), with a "Preface" by Ezra Pound
• The Materials (1962)
• This in Which (1965)
• Of Being Numerous (1968)
• Alpine (1969)
• Seascape: Needle's Eye (1972)
• The Collected Poems (1975) includes Myth of the Blaze
• Primitive (1978)
• Poems of George Oppen (1990); selected and introduced by Charles Tomlinson
• The Selected Letters of George Oppen (1990); edited with an introduction and notes by Rachel Blau DuPlessis
• New Collected Poems (2001, revised edition 2008); edited with an introduction and notes by Michael Davidson, w/ a preface by Eliot Weinberger
• Selected Poems (2002), edited, with an introduction by Robert Creeley
• Selected Prose, Daybooks, and Papers (2008); edited with an introduction by Stephen Cope
• Speaking with George Oppen: Interviews with the Poet and Mary Oppen, 1968-1987 (2012), edited with an introduction by Richard Swigg
• 21 Poems (2017); written 1929-30; edited with an introduction by David B. Hobbs

Books Published After His Death

For more information on Oppen's books published after he passed away, like his Selected Letters and New Collected Poems, you can look up Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Michael Davidson.