In her later years, Babette Deutsch told Jean Gould of an incident which obviously gave her great personal pleasure and also summarized the pivotal concern of her artistic life. She returned to pick up a pair of shoes left far too long at a shoe shop, and, when asked for them, the cobbler immediately handed them over. Even though he said he did not remember her name, he had penciled the word POET in large letters on the paper sack. A doyenne among established twentieth-century poets and a mentor to many beginners. Deutsch wrote verse that was a matchless blend of emotion and intellect, and her critical studies Poetry Hand-book (1957) and Poetry in Our Time (1952) are standard sources for students of poetic craft and technique.

Of German-Jewish descent. Babette Deutsch was born in New York City on 22 September 1895 to Michael Deutsch and Melanie Fisher Deutsch. Her literary interest...