Maxine Kumin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maxine Kumin
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Kumin in 1974
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| Born | Maxine Winokur June 6, 1925 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | February 6, 2014 (aged 88) Warner, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet, author |
| Spouse | Victor Kumin (married 1946–2014) |
| Children | Three |
Maxine Kumin (born June 6, 1925 – died February 6, 2014) was an American poet and writer. She was known for her poems and books. From 1981 to 1982, she was chosen as the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. This is a special honor given to a poet in the United States.
Contents
About Maxine Kumin
Her Early Life and Education
Maxine Kumin was born Maxine Winokur on June 6, 1925, in Philadelphia. Her parents were Jewish. She went to a Catholic kindergarten and elementary school.
She studied at Radcliffe College, earning her first degree in 1946 and a master's degree in 1948. In June 1946, she married Victor Kumin, who was an engineering consultant. They had three children together: two daughters and one son.
In 1957, Maxine Kumin started studying poetry with a teacher named John Holmes. This was at the Boston Center for Adult Education.
Teaching and Farm Life
Maxine Kumin taught English at Tufts University from 1958 to 1961 and again from 1965 to 1968. She also worked as a scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Independent Study. She was a guest lecturer and poet at many colleges and universities across America.
From 1976 until she passed away in 2014, Maxine and her husband lived on a farm. This farm was in Warner, New Hampshire. There, they raised Arabian and quarter horses.
Her Writing Career and Awards
Maxine Kumin received many awards for her writing. In 1972, she won the Eunice Tietjens Memorial Prize for Poetry. A big honor came in 1973 when she won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her book Up Country.
Other awards include the Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry in 1995 and the Poets' Prize in 1994 for her book Looking for Luck. She also received an award for excellence in literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980. In 1986, she got a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. In 1999, she won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. She also received six honorary degrees from different universities.
In 1979, a special set of trading cards called Supersisters was made. One of these cards featured Maxine Kumin's name and picture. She also received grants and fellowships to help her continue her writing.
From 1981 to 1982, she served as the poetry consultant for the Library of Congress. This means she advised the library on poetry. Her poems have been published in many places, including the Beloit Poetry Journal.
Maxine Kumin's Poetic Style
Critics have often compared Maxine Kumin's writing to other famous poets. Some say her careful observations are like those of Elizabeth Bishop. Others compare her to Robert Frost because she often wrote about life in the countryside of New England.
She was sometimes grouped with poets known as "confessional poets," like Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. These poets often wrote about their personal feelings and experiences. However, Maxine Kumin used a simpler, more direct style in her poems. She focused on balancing the idea that life is short with her love for the physical world around her.
Maxine Kumin also taught poetry in a special program at New England College. She was an editor for The Alaska Quarterly Review. She also worked with another poet, Carolyn Kizer, on the board of chancellors for the Academy of American Poets. They later resigned to help open up this important group to more women and minority writers.
Maxine Kumin passed away in February 2014 at her home in Warner, New Hampshire. She was 88 years old and had been in poor health for about a year.
See also
In Spanish: Maxine Kumin para niños
