Richard Howard

Richard Howard. Courtesy NNDB.

Richard Howard (born October 13, 1929) is an American poet, literary critic, essayist, translator, and academic. He has won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

Life

Howard was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a graduate of Columbia University, where he studied under Mark Van Doren, and where he now teaches.

After reading French letters at the Sorbonne in 1952-53, Howard had a brief early career as a lexicographer. He soon turned his attention to poetry and poetic criticism, For much of his career, Howard has written poems using a quantitative verse technique.

Howard was a long-time poetry editor of The Paris Review and is poetry editor of The Western Humanities Review. He has also received a Pulitzer prize, the Academy of Arts and Letters Literary Award and a MacArthur Fellowship. A former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, he is Professor of Practice in the writing program at Columbia's School of the Arts. He was previously University Professor of English at the University of Houston and, before that, Ropes Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati.

He lives in New York City.

Recognition

Howard won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his 1969 collection Untitled Subjects, which took for its subject dramatic imagined letters and monologues of 19th century historical figures.

He was awarded the PEN Translation Prize in 1976 for his translation of E.M. Cioran's A Short History of Decay. He received a National Book Award and an American Book Award for his 1983 translation of Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal.

In 1982, Howard was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite by the government of France.

He served as Poet Laureate of the State of New York from 1994 to 1997.

Publications

Poetry

• Quantities. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1962.
• The Damages. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1967.
• Untitled Subjects. New York: Atheneum, 1969.
• Findings: A book of poems. New York: Atheneum, 1971.
• Two-Part Inventions. New York: Atheneum, 1974.
• Fellow Feelings. New York: Atheneum, 1976.
• Misgivings. New York: Atheneum, 1979.
• Lining Up. New York: Atheneum, 1984.
• Quantities/Damages: Early poems (contains Quantities and The Damages). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1984.
• No Traveller: Poems. New York: Knopf, 1989.
• Like Most Revelations: New poems. New York: Pantheon Books, 1994.
• If I Dream I Have You, I Have You: Poems. New York: Tibor de Nagy Editions, 1997.
• Talking Cures: New poems. New York: Turtle Point Press, 2002.
• Inner Voices: Selected poems, 1963-2003. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2004.
• The Silent Treatment. New York: Turtle Point Press, 2005.
• Without Saying. New York: Turtle Point Press, 2008.

Non-fiction

• Alone with America: Essays on the art of poetry in the United States since 1950. New York: Atheneum, 1969; new edition, 1980.
• Passengers Must Not Ride on Fenders (with Michael Filey & Helmut Weyerstrahs). Green Tree, 1974.
• Hellenistics. Madison, WI: Red Ozier Press, 1984.
• Brassai: The Eye of Paris (with Anne Wilkes Tucker; photos by Brassai). New York: Museum of Fine Arts, 1999.
• Paper Trail: Selected prose, 1965-2003. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2004.
• Proust in the Power Photography (photos by Brassai). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Translated

• Alain Robbe-Grillet, The Voyeur. New York: Grove, 1958.
• Claude Simon, The Wind. New York: Braziller, 1959; reprinted, 1986.
• Claude Simon, The Grass. New York: Braziller, 1960; reprinted, 1986.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, Two Novels: Jealousy / In the Labyrinth. New York: Grove, 1960.
• Andre Breton, Nadja. New York: Grove, 1961.
• Michel Butor, Degrees. London: Methuen, 1961, 1966.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, Last Year at Marienbad. New York: Grove, 1962.
• Michel Butor, Mobile. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1963.
• Marc Saporta, Composition No. 1: A novel. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1963.
• Simone de Beauvoir, Force of Circumstance. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1963.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, The Erasers. New York: Grove, 1964.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, For a New Novel: Essays on fiction. New York: Grove, 1966.
• Jean Hytier, The Poetics of Paul Valery. New York: Doubleday, 1966.
• Jules Renard, Natural Histories. New York: Horizon Press, 1966.
• Maurice Nadeau, History of Surrealism. New York: Macmillan (New York, NY), 1967.
• Michel Leiris, Manhood: A journey from childhood into the fierce order of virility. New York: Grossman, 1968.
• Claude Simon, Histoire. New York: Braziller, 1968.
• Andre Gide, The Immoralist. New York: Knopf, 1970.
• Jean Genet, May Day Speech. San Francisco, Ca: City Lights, 1970.
• Jean Cocteau, Professional Secrets: An autobiography. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1970.
• E.M. Cioran, Fall into Time. Chicago: Quadrangle, 1970.
• Claude Simon, The Battle of Pharsalus. New York: Braziller, 1971.
• Albert Camus, A Happy Death. New York: Knopf, 1972.
• Roland Barthes, Critical Essays. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1972.
• Maurice Pons, Rosa. New York: Dial, 1972.
• Robbe-Grillet, Project for a Revolution in New York. New York: Grove, 1972.
• Tzvetan Todorov, The Fantastic: A structural approach to a literary genre. Berkeley, CA: University Press Books, 1973.
• Claude Morin, Quebec versus Ottawa: The struggle for self-government, 1960-1972. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976.
• Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues, The Motorcycle. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.
• Germaine Tillion, France and Algeria. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.
• E.M. Cioran, The Trouble with Being Born. New York: Viking, 1976.
• Tzvetan Todorov, The Poetics of Prose. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1977.
• Saint-John Perse, Song for an Equinox. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977.
• Roland Barthes, Roland Barthes. New York: Hill & Wang, 1977.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, In the Labyrinth. New York: Grove, 1978.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, Jealousy. New York: Grove, 1978.
• Roland Barthes, A Lover's Discourse. New York: Hill & Wang, 1978.
• Laurent De Brunhoff, The One Pig with Horns. New York: Pantheon, 1979.
• Roland Barthes, New Critical Essays. New York: Hill & Wang, 1980.
• Andre Pieyre De Mandiargues, The Girl beneath the Lion. Edison, NJ: Riverrun Press, 1980.
• Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida: Reflections on photography. New York: Hill & Wang, 1981.
• Andre Pieyre De Mandiargues, The Girl on the Motorcycle. Edison, NJ: Riverrun Press, 1981.
• Andre Pieyre De Mandiargues, The Margin. Edison, NJ: Riverrun Press, 1981.
• Denis Moniere, Ideologies in Quebec: The historical development. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981.
• Maurice Sachs, Witches' Sabbath. New York: Stein & Day, 1982.
• Alain Robbe-Grillet, Le Maison de Rendez-vous. New York: Grove, 1982.
• Roland Barthes, The Empire of Signs. New York: Hill & Wang, 1982.
• Roland Barthes, The Fashion System (translated with Matthew Ward). New York: Hill & Wang, 1983.
• Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal. Boston: David R. Godine, 1983.
• Andre Gide, Corydon. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1983.
• E.M. Cioran, Drawn and Quartered. New York: Seaver Books, 1983.
• Tzvetan Todorov, The Conquest of America. New York: Harper, 1984.
• Marguerite Yourcenar, The Dark Brain of Piranesi, and other essays. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1984.
• Charles De Gaulle, The Complete War Memoirs of Charles De Gaulle, 1940-1946. New York: Da Capo Press, 1984.
• Jacques Leibowitch, A Strange Virus of Unknown Origin: A.I.D.S.. New York: Ballantine, 1985.
• Georges Duby, William Marshal: The flower of chivalry. New York: Pantheon, 1985.
• Roland Barthes, The Responsibility of Forms. New York: Hill & Wang, 1985.
• Claude Simon, The Flanders Road. Edison, NJ: Riverrun Press, 1986.
• Julien Gracq, The Opposing Shore. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
• Robert Gordon and Andrew Forge, The Last Flowers of Manet. New York: Abrams, 1986.
• Roland Barthes, Michelet. New York: Hill & Wang, 1986.
• Roland Barthes, The Rustle of Language. New York: Hill & Wang, 1986.
• Robbe-Grillet, Le Maison de Rendez-vous [and] Djinn. New York: Grove, 1987.
• Gracq, Balcony in the Forest. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.
• Andre Gide, Return from the U.S.S.R., and Afterthoughts on my return. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1987.
• Jean Cocteau, Past Tense: The Cocteau diaries, Volume I. New York: Harcourt, 1987.
• E.M. Cioran, History and Utopia. New York: Seaver Books, 1987.
• Christophe Betaille, Annam. New York: New Directions, 1996.
• Jules Verne, Paris in the Twentieth Century (introduction by Eugen Weber). New York: Random House, 1996.
• Christophe Bataille, Hourmaster. New York: New Directions, 1998.
• E.M. Cioran, The Temptation to Exist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
• Marguerite Duras, No More. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1998.
• Stendhal, The Charterhouse of Parma. New York: Modern Library, 2000.
• Honore de Balzac, The Unknown Masterpiece; and, Gambara. New York: New York Review of Books, 2001.
• Claude Simon, The Trolley. New York: New Press, 2002.
• Maurice Maeterlinck, Hothouses: Poems, 1889. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
• Robbe-Grillet, Repetition: A novel. New York: Grove, 2003.
• Pierre Michon, Lives under Glass. Brooklyn, NY: Archipelago Books, 2006.

Edited

• Preferences: Fifty-one American poets choose poems from their own work and from the past (edited with Thomas Victor). New York: Viking, 1974.

  

  Poetry Selections read by Richard Howard in conjunction with "Pierre Bonnard The Late Interiors"

• Jule Roy, The War in Algeria. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1975.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Poetry Foundation.

See also

• List of U.S. poets
• List of literary critics

Preceded by Audre Lorde

New York State Poet 1993-1995

Succeeded by Jane Cooper

External links

Poems

• "Only Different" at Guernica
• Richard Howard profile & 2 poems at the Academy of American Poets.
• Richard Howard at PoemHunter (2 poems)
• Richard Howard b. 1929 at the Poetry Foundation.

Audio / video

• Richard Howard at YouTube

Books

• Richard Howard at Amazon.com

About

• Richard Howard at the New York State Writers Institute
• Richard Howard at NNDB
• "Praising Sacred Places: Richard Howard’s Jewish Roots" by Benjamin Ivry, The Forward
• J. D. McClatchy (Spring 2004). "Richard Howard, The Art of Poetry No. 86". The Paris Review. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/29/the-art-of-poetry-no-86-richard-howard. 
• A Conversation: Richard Howard & Priscilla Becker at the Poetry Society of America
• The Translator's Voice: An interview with Richard Howard at the Center for Translation Studies