Eigner, Larry, 1927-1996

New England poet whose work has been acclaimed by such writers as Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams.

From the description of Letter, to Mark and Becki, 1969 October 18. (Brown University). WorldCat record id: 122639510

American poet.

From the description of Larry Eigner papers, 1937-1995. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 462019406

Poet; b. Laurence Joel Eigner; originally of Swampscott, Mass.

From the description of Larry Eigner papers, 1950-1978. (University of Connecticut). WorldCat record id: 28417781

Born in 1927 in Swampscott, Massachusetts, Larry Eigner is an American poet affiliated with Charles Olson and the Black Mountain College .

From the guide to the Larry Eigner Papers., 1950-1979., (Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center .)

Poet and author Larry Eigner was afflicted with cerebral palsy resulting from a forceps accident during birth. Confined to a bed or wheelchair, he lived most of his life on the ground floor of his parent's Massachusetts house. Preoccupied with language, Eigner discovered poetry, and began a correspondence with Robert Creeley, who published Eigner's first book of poems in 1953, beginning a long and productive career. Eigner's poems are spare and spontaneous, clearly part of the Modernist movement. His shaping of poems and unique phrasing have been influential, and his insight and perceptiveness are justly praised.

From the description of Larry Eigner letters to Daisy Aldan and Portents offprint, 1958-1968. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 60194701

Reyes is a small press publisher based in Portland, Oregon. Eigner submitted poetry to him.

From the description of Letters (including poetry) to Carlos Reyes, 1965-1966. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122289214

American poet Larry Eigner (Laurence Joel Eigner) was born August 7, 1927 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Although an injury at birth left Eigner palsied, the poet and writer spent his life describing the world around him, first from his glassed-in porch in a small town in Massachusetts and later from his home in Berkeley, California. Although most of his published work is poetry, he has also written a play, short stories and prose.

"Larry Eigner." Contemporary Poets , 6th ed. (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed June 2008)

From the guide to the Larry Eigner letters and poems, 1960-1978, 1973-1976, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

American poet Larry Eigner (Laurence Joel Eigner) was born August 7, 1927, in Lynn, Massachusetts. Although an injury at birth left Eigner palsied, the poet and writer spent his life describing the world around him, first from his glassed-in porch in a small town in Massachusetts and later from his home in Berkeley, California. Although most of his published work is poetry, he has also written a play, short stories, and prose.

"Larry Eigner." Contemporary Poets, 6th ed. (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed June 2008). Biographical information also derived from the collection.

From the guide to the Cleary Outlined : page proofs, circa 1964, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

American poet Larry Eigner (Laurence Joel Eigner) was born August 7, 1927, in Lynn, Massachusetts. Although an injury at birth left Eigner palsied, the poet and writer spent his life describing the world around him, first from his glassed-in porch in a small town in Massachusetts and later from his home in Berkeley, California. Although most of his published work is poetry, he has also written a play, short stories, and prose.

"Larry Eigner." Contemporary Poets, 6th ed. (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed June 2008). Biographical information also derived from the collection.

From the guide to the Larry Eigner stories : eight manuscripts, circa 1968, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

Biography / Administrative History

American poet born in Swampscott, MA, Eigner was confined his entire life to a wheelchair as a result of cerebral palsy. Educated at home by his parents, he lived with them in Swampscott until 1978, when he moved to California. Eigner's writing reflects his special perspective on the world, developing a distinctive style to register his uniquely distanced vision of the world. His first volume of poetry From the Sustaining Air was published in 1953 by Robert Creeley. His steady productivity resulted in numerous subsequent collections, including, Another Time in Fragments (1967), Things Stirring/ Together/ or Far Away (1974), now there's-a-morning-hulk of the sky (1981), and Waters/Places/ A Time (1983). His short stories are collected in Farther North (1969) and his prose writings in Country/ Harbour/ Quiet/ Act/ Around: Selected Prose (1978) and Area/ Lights/ Heights: Selected Writings, 1954 -1989. His latest book of poetry is Windows/ Walls/ Yard/ Ways (1994), but at the time of his death he had just completed work on a new collection Readiness/ Enough/ Depends/ On, now forthcoming.

From the guide to the Larry Eigner papers, 1937-1995, (Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.)

Larry Eigner (1927-1996), was an American poet, short-story writer and essayist, known for spare, passionate poems. Influenced by poets such as Robert Creeley, Charles Olson and William Carlos Williams, Eigner is frequently associated with Olson's Black Mountain Poets, a group known for its postmodern style.

Laurence Joel Eigner was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts, on August 7, 1927. Birth injuries led to cerebral palsy, which affected his mobility and speaking ability. Confined to a wheelchair, Eigner watched the world outside his window with profound interest. He was educated at home and furthered his schooling through correspondence courses from the University of Chicago.

In 1949 Eigner heard poet Cid Corman giving a reading of Yeats's poetry on the radio. This moment altered the course of Eigner's life. He wrote to Corman, taking issue with Corman's reading style, and the two began what would become a long correspondence. Corman introduced Eigner to established poets such as Denise Levertov, Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan and Charles Olson.

In 1978, following the death of his father, Eigner moved to Berkeley, California, to be near his brother Richard. There he continued to write prolifically and became an important fixture in the Bay Area poetry scene. He died from complications of pneumonia on 3 February 1996. His final collection, Readiness/Enough/Depends/On, was published posthumously in 1999. His papers are housed at Stanford University, University of Kansas, and Brown University.

Source: Twentieth Century American Poetry, 2nd Edition

From the guide to the Larry Eigner papers, Eigner (Larry) papers, 1958-1978, 1958-1978, (Brown University Library Special Collections)

American poet Larry (Lawrence Joel) Eigner (1927-1996) lived in Swampscott, Massachusetts for the first 50 years of his life and, in 1978, after the death of his father, Israel Eigner, moved to Berkeley, California, where he spent the rest of his life. Largely home-schooled, Eigner also took correspondence courses offered by the University of Chicago.

In 1949 he became interested in poetry when listening to Cid Corman reading Yeats on a radio show. Their ensuing correspondence served as an introduction to Eigner's life work. Eigner's first book, From the Sustaining Air, was published in 1953, and he went on to author more than 40 books and thousands of poems, which also appeared in numerous small press periodicals. Having been influenced by the Beat Poets, Eigner used an open form of poetry, a technique ascribed to the Black Mountain Poets, a group of writers publishing in The Black Mountain Review, an experimental magazine printed by Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

He was admired by his fellow poets and kept up a correspondence with many of them. Eigner also gave readings of his work and participated in the making of a documentary, Getting It Together, about himself with readings of his poems by Allen Ginsberg.

From the guide to the Larry Eigner poems and papers, 1950-1993, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Department of Special Collections)