Louis Simpson facts for kids

Louis Aston Marantz Simpson (born March 27, 1923 – died September 14, 2012) was an American poet. He was born in Jamaica. He became famous for his writing. In 1964, he won the important Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book At the End of the Open Road.

Louis Simpson: A Poet's Journey

Early Life and Becoming a Writer

Louis Simpson was born in Jamaica in 1923. His father was a lawyer. His family had roots in Scotland and Africa. His mother was from Russia. Louis learned he had Jewish heritage when he was a teenager.

When he was 17, Louis moved to the United States. He started studying at Columbia University in New York. There, he learned from a famous teacher named Mark Van Doren.

His Time in World War II

During World War II, Louis Simpson joined the army. From 1943 to 1945, he was part of the special 101st Airborne Division. He fought in many countries, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

Louis was a "runner" for his company. This meant he carried important messages from his captain to officers on the front lines. He was in a tough battle in Carentan, France. American troops were surprised by German forces. Louis later wrote a poem called "Carentan O Carentan" about this experience.

He also fought in the Netherlands during a big operation called Operation Market Garden. His company faced very cold weather in Bastogne. They were surrounded by enemy forces for many days.

After the war ended, Louis went to the University of Paris. Then he came back to the U.S. He worked as an editor in New York. He finished his college degrees at Columbia University. He earned a Bachelor's, a Master's, and a PhD.

A Unique Voice in Poetry

Louis Simpson's first book of poems was The Arrivistes, published in 1949. People liked its strong, formal style. But later, Louis changed his writing. He started using a simpler, more direct style of poetry called free verse.

He taught at several universities. These included Columbia University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Louis Simpson often wrote about being an outsider. This was because he was born in Jamaica but lived most of his life in the U.S. He used the lives of everyday Americans in his poems. He explored the ideas and myths that America tells itself. He sometimes wrote about his childhood in the West Indies. But he always kept a connection to his adopted home.

A writer named Edward Hirsch said that Louis Simpson looked at life with humor. He also said that Louis's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, At the End of the Open Road, was about the "American character." It showed Americans "as we are," not just as we wish to be.

His later books, like Collected Poems (1988) and There You Are (1995), focused on regular people. He used simple words and stories. He showed the surprising reality of the "American dream." Another poet, Mark Jarman, called Louis Simpson a "poet of the American character."

Louis Simpson lived on Long Island in New York. He passed away on September 14, 2012.

Awards and Recognition

Louis Simpson received many important awards for his poetry:

• 1962 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1964 Pulitzer Prize
• Rome Prize
• 1998 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
• 2004 Finalist, Griffin Poetry Prize (International)

Selected Works

Louis Simpson wrote many books, including novels, poetry collections, and non-fiction.

Novels

• Riverside Drive. Publisher, Atheneum, 1962

Poetry Collections

• The Arrivistes: Poems, 1940–1949. Fine Editions Press. 1949.
• At the End of the Open Road, Poems. Wesleyan University Press. 1963. (This book won the Pulitzer Prize!)
• Collected Poems. Paragon House. 1988.
• There You Are: Poems. Story Line Press. 1995.
• The Owner of the House: New Collected Poems, 1940–2001. BOA Editions, Ltd.. 2003.

Non-fiction Books

• Louis Aston Marantz Simpson, ed. (1968). An Introduction to Poetry. Macmillan.
• Air with Armed Men. London Magazine Editions. 1972.
• Three on the Tower. Morrow. 1975.

See also

In Spanish: Louis Simpson para niños