Hayden Carruth Biography

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Hayden Carruth

Hayden Carruth first published a poem in 1946, and his poetry, essays, and anthologies now approach forty volumes with no sign of abatement. He has, moreover, by his own estimate written several thousand pieces for newspapers, magazines, and anthologies. He is often called a poet's poet, and his aid to and promotion of others has been remarkable. His eclectic anthology, The Voice That Is Great Within Us (1970), a survey of American poetry from Robert Frost to its date of publication, has been widely used and continues to be highly regarded. Carruth's influence and importance have grown markedly in the last decade, especially with the publications of his historical/mythical epic, The Sleeping Beauty (1982); Collected Shorter Poems (1992), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1993; and Collected Longer Poems (1994). Furthermore, his essays and reviews, now collected in four volumes, including Suicides and Fazzers (1992), constitute a major overview of the craft of American poetry since World War II.

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