Levertov, Denise 1977; 1984

Friday, February 18, 1977
Monday, May 7, 1984
Vintage poster of Denise Levertov's 1984 reading at the Poetry Center of Chicago.

Vintage poster of Denise Levertov’s 1984 reading at the Poetry Center of Chicago.

in white pulp: the bones of squid
which I pull out and lay
blade by blade on the draining board–
tapered as if for swiftness, to pierce
the heart, but fragile, substance
belying design…

– Denise Levertov, “Pleasures”

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Listen to an interview with Denise Levertov:

92Y/The Paris Review Interview Series: Denise Levertov with Deborah Digges

Subscribe for more videos like this: http://youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=92Yplus This conversation between Deborah Digges and Denise Levertov, part of a collaboration between 92Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center and The Paris Review, was recorded live at 92Y on April 22, 1991.

Green Snake, when I hung you round my neck
and stroked your cold, pulsing throat
as you hissed to me, glinting
arrowy gold scales, and I felt
the weight of you on my shoulders,
and the whispering silver of your dryness
sounded close at my ears–

– Denise Levertov, “To The Snake”

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Watch Denise Levertov read some of her work:

Denise Levertov: six poems

Denise Levertov reads six poems from her later collections, three from EVENING TRAIN (1992) and three later included in her posthumously published collection SANDS OF THE WELL (1998). This is an extract from an hour-long reading she gave for the Lannan Foundation in Los Angeles on 7 December 1993.

More info on Denise Levertov⇒