Peter Davison (poet) facts for kids

Peter Davison (born June 27, 1928, in New York, New York – died December 29, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American poet, essayist, and editor. He also worked as a teacher and publisher, helping many writers share their stories and poems with the world.

His Life Story

Peter Davison was born in New York City. His father, Edward Davison, was also a poet from Scotland. Peter grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where his dad taught at the University of Colorado.

Peter went to Harvard University and finished his studies in 1949. Some of his classmates there also became famous poets, like John Ashbery and Robert Bly. After Harvard, he spent a year studying at Cambridge University in England with a special scholarship called a Fulbright Fellowship.

Working in Publishing

Peter Davison started his career working for publishing companies. He worked at Harcourt Brace and then at Harvard University Press. In 1966, he joined the Atlantic Monthly Press. He stayed there for 29 years, and for the last 15 of those years, he was the director, meaning he was in charge! For 30 years, he was also the poetry editor for Atlantic Monthly magazine. This meant he chose which poems would be published.

Later, in the 1980s, he worked for another big publisher, Houghton Mifflin. He helped edit many books for his own special collection there. Peter was part of a group of important writers in Boston and New England. This group included famous poets like Robert Lowell and Robert Frost.

His Poetry Books

In 1963, Peter Davison published his first collection of poetry called Breaking of the Day. This book won a special award called the Yale Younger Poets Prize. He went on to publish 11 books of poetry in total. His last poetry book, Breathing Room, came out in 2000 and also won the Massachusetts Book Award.

Peter Davison also helped edit books by many other authors, including Ward Just and Farley Mowat.

His Work and Poems

Peter Davison's poems were very special. He didn't follow just one style of poetry. Instead, he wrote poems that made people think deeply. His poems were often about nature and the world around him. They also explored feelings and memories.

Mark Feeney, who wrote about Peter Davison in the Boston Globe, said that his poems were "highly intelligent" and "constantly alert to the external world." Peter himself wrote in one of his poems:

The corner of the eye
Is where my visions lie

This means he found inspiration in the small details of life.

Another poet, W.S. Merwin, said that Peter Davison's poems looked closely at "affection, attachment, loss, and memory." His language was clear and his tone was often quiet.

The Poetry Foundation also described Peter Davison's work. They said that like his mentor Robert Frost, Peter used a natural voice in his poems. He wrote about things that everyone can understand, like growing up, getting older, and the beauty of life.

A reviewer named Vernon Young said that Peter Davison wrote "a poetry of reminiscence and conservation." This means his poems often looked back at the past and tried to hold onto important moments. His poems were about understanding life and being strong. Another writer, James Finn Cotter, said Peter was "a reporter of life fashioned close to the land." This means he wrote about life in a down-to-earth way, often inspired by nature.

Jay Parini wrote that Peter Davison's poems had "a civilized wit" and a strong sense of balance. He believed Peter was a "true poet" whose intelligence was very welcome in the world.