![]() He was now devoted to working full-time as a writer and critic. So, in March 1937, Schwartz returned once more to New York City. His work: "trying to make a dramatic image of an idea" and "trying to make dramatic poetry out of American speech."ĭuring his second year at Harvard, Schwartz's mother informed him that she could no longer support him financially. Schwartz later explained that this poem illustrated the two difficulties he struggled with in In 1936, his poem Choosing Company was published in American Caravanmagazine. His work was published in Poetry magazine, and he was awarded the Bowdoin Prize for best essay by a graduate student in the humanities. During that time, Schwartz continued to write poems and critical essays, including some well-received translations of the French symbolist poet, Arthur Rimbaud. He remained there for the better part of two years, but left without receiving any kind of degree. Working WriterĪfter completing his undergraduate degree, Schwartz began graduate study in philosophy at Harvard University. His essays earned the attention of the New York literary community. As editor, Schwartz used the publication as a vehicle to air his own critical opinions. Blackmur, and William Carlos Williams were a few of the prominent poets and critics who had their work published in Mosaic. While at NYU, Schwartz and a group of fellow students founded Mosaic, a literary magazine devoted to Marxist aesthetics. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1935. Schwartz took courses in classical, analytical, and contemporary philosophy. Schwartz returned to New York City and enrolled at New York University. ![]() Schwartz did not apply himself too diligently to his studies, however, and he left the university in June 1932, without completing his final exams. In 1931, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin, where he was exposed to Marxist philosophy and the bohemian ethic. His mother now provided his only means of support College YearsĪfter graduating from high school, Schwartz enrolled in a college prep course at New York's Columbia University. At the age of 16, Delmore Schwartz was left practically penniless and without an inheritance. An unscrupulous executor embezzled the small amount of money that remained in hie estate after the collapse. ![]() That same year, Schwartz's family lost much of its savings in the stock market crash. His early verses were published for the first time in the Poet's Pack of George Washington High School in 1929. As a teenager, he began to identify with the European avant-garde. Teachers who read Schwartz's early writing encouraged him to develop his talents. Early in childhood, Schwartz decided to become a poet. He spent his time writing about his feelings in a series of journals. His parents' tumultuous marriage, which ended in divorce in 1927, gave the boy plenty of material for morose reflection. His only good subject was English, because it engaged his active imagination. The couple separated for a time in 1923.Ī precocious child with a flair for mimicry, Delmore Schwartz nonetheless had a difficult time in grade school. Marital problems, caused in part by Harry Schwartz's philandering, plagued their relationship. Rose Schwartz gave birth to a second child, Kenneth, in 1916. When their first son was born, they gave him a traditional Jewish middle name, David, but a first name, Delmore, they intended to sound sophisticated and "American." Always sensitive about his first name, Schwartz would later deal with the issue in his poetry. Harry Schwartz grew prosperous in the real estate business, enabling the couple to move to an affluent Brooklyn neighborhood. His parents, Harry and Rose (Nathanson) Schwartz, were immigrants from Romania, part of the first great wave of Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe. ![]() ![]() Through both his art and his tragic death, Schwartz influenced such literary legatees as John Berryman and Robert Lowell.ĭelmore Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 8, 1913. Depression and alcoholism marked his later years. Poet and critic Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966) stunned the literary world with the breathtaking achievement of his first published volume in 1938, earning him adulation as "the American Auden." His early success raised critical expectations that Schwartz could never fulfill. ![]()
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