Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977

Louis Untermeyer was a noted author, editor, and translator. His tastes were eclectic, and his friendships many; he produced more than one hundred books, and volumes of letters. His numerous poetry anthologies have helped introduce verse to generations of schoolchildren.

From the description of Heinrich Heine, paradox and poet, 1936. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 56550722

From the description of Louis Untermeyer letter to Judith Wright McKinney, 1961 Feb. 4. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 55592860

Louis Untermeyer, 1885-1977, was an author, poet, and anthologist born in New York City. Untermeyer wrote several volumes of poetry, and also compiled several anthologies, including "Modern American Poetry and Modern British Poetry" (1969). He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1961 to 1963.

From the guide to the Untermeyer mss. III, 1917-1977, (Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington))

American author and editor.

From the description of Correspondence, 1938-1950. (Ohio State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 26710796

From the description of Papers of Louis Untermeyer [manuscript], 1920-1935. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647871365

Poet, critic, and editor.

From the description of Louis Untermeyer papers, 1955-1967. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70981204

From the description of Untermeyer-Frost collection, 1913-1964. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70984734

American poet.

From the description of Typed letters signed (3) : Elizabethtown, New York, and Kansas City, Missouri, to Edward Wagenknecht, 1939 Oct. 21, Nov. 21, and Dec. 13. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270868250

Louis Untermeyer was an American editor, literary anthologist, essayist, novelist, literary critic, poet, and translator.

From the description of Louis Untermeyer collection of papers, 1913-1975. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122626271

From the guide to the Louis Untermeyer collection of papers, 1913-1975, (The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.)

American author.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : New York, to Isadora Duncan, 1916 Nov. 15. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 501185849

Author.

From the description of Papers, 1917-1977. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 49834571

American author and editor. Poet-in-residence at University of Michigan, 1939-40.

From the description of Poetry collection, 1914-1955. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34364899

American anthologist and poet Louis Untermeyer was most noted for the anthologies of poetry which he compiled and edited, in addition to the twenty-two books of his own poetry. By the end of his llife, Untermeyer had written, edited, or translated over one hundred books. Untermeyer was born October 1, 1885, in New York City. Untermeyer's formal education was limited to several years of high school, which he left prior to graduation. He eventually received a high school diploma in 1965.

In 1902, before pursuing his literary interests, Untermeyer began a career as a salesman with Untermeyer-Robbins Company, his father's jewelry manufacturing enterprise. Prior to resigning the business in 1923, he became vice-president and manager of the Newark, New Jersey, factory.

From 1923 until his death in 1977, Untermeyer worked solely at his literary interests as a poet, writer, editor, translator, and lecturer. Untermeyer had been writing and editing for a number of years while working in the jewelry business, and by 1923, several volumes of his own poetry and at least six of his poetry anthologies had already been published. By the conclusion of his life, Untermeyer had written, edited, or translated over one hundred books for readers of all ages.

Most of Untermeyer's own poetry was published in twenty-two books of poetry, beginning with his first published work, First Love (1911). Untermeyer also wrote essays (particularly about poetry), parodies, short stories, a travel journal, juvenile fiction and poetry, a novel, biographies and an autobiography; and translated works by Heinrich Heine, Gottfried Keller, and Edmond Rostand.

Louis Untermeyer was most noted for the anthologies of poetry which he compiled and edited. Some of these works, first published in the 1920s, continued to be used as high school and college textbooks well into the 1970s. During his lifetime, Untermeyer developed numerous literary friendships with individuals who sought his help in getting published, contributed to his anthologies, or shared his enthusiasm for poetry.

Untermeyer was also noted for his lectures on poetry, drama, music, and other art forms. Presented throughout the United States, as well as in India and Japan, Untermeyer's popular lectures incorporated both his criticism of poetry and anecdotes about famous poets.

His lack of academic credentials did not diminish the recognition and respect Untermeyer's writing received. In 1956 he was awarded a Gold Medal by the Poetry Society of America honoring his service to poetry. Untermeyer was appointed as Poet in Residence at the University of Michigan (1939–1940), the University of Kansas City, Missouri (1939), and Iowa State College (1940). He also served as a consultant in English poetry for the Library of Congress from 1961 until 1963.

Through his anthologies, poetry, lectures, and relationships with numerous literary figures, Louis Untermeyer exercised substantial influence on American literature during his lifetime.

Lesniak, James G. (ed.) Contemporary Authors . New Revision Series, Volume 31. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1990. pp. 439-442.

From the guide to the Louis Untermeyer papers, 1902–1972, 1912–1935, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

Louis Untermeyer.” Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2000. Retrieved April 22, 2002 from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioR “John D. Weaver.” Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 1999. Retrieved April 22, 2002 from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioR Untermeyer, Louis. Bygones: The Recollections of Louis Untermeyer. New York: Harcourt Brace & World, Inc., 1965. Other information derived from the collection.

Louis Untermeyer (1885–1977) was an American author, anthologist, and editor. Over the course of his long career, Untermeyer published over a hundred books of prose and poetry. He is particularly noted for his influential poetry anthologies which early promoted the work of poets like Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound.

A high school drop-out, Untermeyer went to work for his father’s jewelry business at the age of sixteen. He remained until 1923 when he resigned to devote his efforts full-time to literature. By the time of his resignation, Untermeyer had already published several volumes of his own verse and the first of his anthologies of American and British poetry. During the next fifty-five years, Untermeyer published “biographies, children’s books, travel reminiscences, literary essays, translations, and a novel,” in addition to his own poetry and his anthologies of poetry. He was a long-time friend of Robert Frost, and, in 1963, published Letters of Robert Frost to Louis Untermeyer, documenting his half-century of correspondence with the poet.

Untermeyer was senior editor of publications with the Office of War Information and editor for Armed Forces Editions during World War II. He served as cultural editor for Decca Records after the war until 1958. In the early 1950s he was a regular on the CBS television program “What’s My Line,” but was forced out by pressure resulting from unsubstantiated charges of radicalism. During the 1961-62 term, he was consultant on poetry for the Library of Congress. Untermeyer was also a popular lecturer and held many appointments as poet-in-residence at colleges and universities across the United States.

The American writer John D. Weaver (b. 1912) began his career as a reporter and feature writer for the Kansas City Star in 1935. From 1940 he worked as a freelance writer in California. He has written two novels and numerous articles, stories and reviews for publications like Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly, and the Saturday Evening Post . His historical work, The Brownsville Raid, was instrumental in re-opening the case of 167 black infantrymen who had been dishonorably discharged from the army in 1910. The soldiers were exonerated in 1972. His story, “Holiday Affair,” was made into a movie starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh in 1946, and remade for television in 1996. Weaver served as West Coast editor for Holiday magazine in 1964-65, and as an editor for Travel & Leisure beginning in 1971.

Untermeyer and Weaver met in Kansas City in 1938 when Untermeyer was poet-in-residence at Kansas City University and Weaver was a feature writer for the Kansas City Times . During Untermeyer’s stay in Kansas City, Weaver’s wife, Harriet, served as Untermeyer’s secretary for his anthology, Stars to Steer By . The resulting forty year friendship produced the correspondence that comprises the bulk of this collection.

From the guide to the Louis Untermeyer correspondence with John D. Weaver, 1938–1995, 1939–1977, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

Biographical Note

• 1865, Oct. 1: Born, New York. N.Y.
• 1882 - 1923 : Worked in family jewelry business, Untermeyer-Robbins Co. and Charles Keller & Co.
• 1923: Resigned from jewelry business to devote full time to studying and writing
• 1907: Married Jean Starr (divorced 1926)
• 1911: Published first book of poems, First Love. Boston: Sherman, French & Co.
• 1926: Married Virginia Moore (divorced 1929)
• 1929: Reunited in marriage with Jean Starr (divorced 1930)
• 1933: Married Esther Antin (divorced 1945)
• 1934 - 1937 : Poetry editor, American Mercury
• 1939 - 1940 : Poet in residence, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• 1948: Married Bryna Ivens
• 1950: Panelist on television show What’s My Line?
• 1955: Published A Treasury of Great Poems, English and American. New York: Simon and Schuster
• 1961 - 1963 : Consultant in poetry, Library of Congress
• 1965: Published Bygones; The Recollections of Louis Untermeyer. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World
• 1977, Dec. 18: Died, Newtown, Conn.

From the guide to the Louis Untermeyer Papers, 1955-1967, (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

Louis Untermeyer (1885-1977) was an American author, poet, anthologist, and editor. Prior to his literary career, he worked as a salesman with the Untermeyer-Robbins Company, his father's jewelry manufacturing business. He later became vice-president and manager of the Newark, New Jersey, factory. From 1923 until his death in 1977, Untermeyer concentrated on his literary career, writing, editing, or translating over one hundred books. He was the recipient of a number of awards. Untermeyer was awarded a Gold Medal by the Poetry Society of America in 1956 and was appointed the fourteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1961. Additionally he was appointed as Poet in Residence at the University of Michigan (1939-1940), the University of Kansas City, Missouri (1939), and Iowa State College (1940). He also served as a consultant in English poetry for the Library of Congress from 1961 until 1963. See the Special Collections Department at the University of Delaware for additional information and the Louis Untermeyer Papers.

Norman Winestine, to whom the letter was addressed, was the father of Professor Gordon Hewes (1917-1997) of the University of Colorado at Boulder, anthropologist and donor of MS 278, as well as the nephew of Marguerite Lopez.

From the guide to the Louis Untermeyer Letter to Norman Winestine (MS 256), 21 June 1918, (University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Special Collections Dept.)