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Stephen Rodefer
Stephen Rodefer August 2013 San Francisco, CA (©Katrine Le Gallou)
Stephen Rodefer August 2013 San Francisco, CA (©Katrine Le Gallou)
Born (1940-11-20)November 20, 1940
Bellaire, Ohio, U.S.
Died August 22, 2015(2015-08-22) (aged 74)
Paris, France
Occupation Poet, Painter
Language English, French
Literary movement Language poetry
Notable work Four Lectures

Stephen Rodefer (born November 20, 1940 – died August 22, 2015) was an American poet and painter. He lived in both Paris, France, and London, England. Stephen was born in Bellaire, Ohio, in the United States.

He knew many famous poets from the early Beat Generation and Black Mountain poets groups. These included well-known names like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Olson. Rodefer was also one of the first poets in a group called the Language poets.

Stephen Rodefer taught at many universities. Some of these were UC Berkeley and San Francisco State. He was the first American poet to receive a special Fellowship at Cambridge University in England. His important writings are now kept at Stanford University for people to study. Stephen Rodefer passed away in Paris when he was 74 years old.

Stephen Rodefer wrote many books of poetry. Some of his famous works include Four Lectures, which won an award. Other books he wrote were Emergency Measures and Call It Thought.

He also wrote an important essay about literature. A magazine called Chicago Review even dedicated a special issue to his work in 2008.

Stephen Rodefer was also a translator. He translated works by famous writers like Dante and Baudelaire from other languages into English. He also translated poems by Sappho and Rilke.

Besides writing, he was also a painter! His art, called LANGUAGE PICTURES, was shown in big cities around the world. These cities included New York, London, and Paris. Before he passed away, he was working on translating more poems by Baudelaire.

Stephen Rodefer's Education

Stephen Rodefer studied at several universities. He learned about art history and literature.

  • 1959-1963: He attended Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
  • 1959-1961: He also studied at SUNY Buffalo in New York. Here, he focused on poetry and literature for his graduate studies.

Stephen Rodefer's Books

Stephen Rodefer wrote many books of poetry and also translated works by other authors. He also wrote books of criticism.

Poetry Books

Here are some of the poetry books Stephen Rodefer wrote:

  • 2008: Call it Thought: Selected Poems.
  • 2000: Left Under a Cloud.
  • 2000: Mon Canard: Six Poems.
  • 1996: Answer to Dr Agathon.
  • 1994: Erasers.
  • 1992: Leaving.
  • 1992: Double Imperative Landscapes: Daydreams of Frascati, with Chip Sullivan.
  • 1991: Passing Duration.
  • 1987: Emergency Measures.
  • 1984: Oriflamme Day, with Benjamin Friedlander.
  • 1982: Four Lectures.
  • 1981: Plane Debris.
  • 1978: The Bell Clerk’s Tears Keep Flowing.
  • 1976: One or Two Love Poems from the White World.
  • 1965: The Knife.

Translated Books

Stephen Rodefer also translated books by other authors into English:

  • 2008: Hölderlin, with Nick Walker.
  • 2008: Baudelaire, Fever Flowers: les fleurs du val.
  • 1994: Rilke I IV VI, with Geoff Ward and Ian Patterson.
  • 1991: 'Dante: Selections from the Inferno' in Passing Duration.
  • 1985: Orpheus [Rilke].
  • 1985: Safety, translations from Sappho and the Greek Anthology.
  • 1976: Villon, by Jean Calais (a pen name).
  • 1973: After Lucretius.

Criticism Books

He also wrote books where he shared his thoughts and analysis on literature:

  • 2008: The Monkeys Donut: Essays in Post-Classical American Literature.
  • 1988: The Library of Label.
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