Where and when were you born?
In Cambridge, England, on
January 3rd, 1933
Could you tell us something
about your background?
Parents both born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1909; travelled to Cambridge in 1933 after my father, the philosopher C.L. Stevenson, had graduated from Yale to study under I.A. Richards, Wittgenstein and G.E. Moore as post-graduate at Jesus College. My mother, ne Louise Destler, was a graduate of Wooster College, Ohio, a writer and a historian. The family returned to the American Cambridge in the year I was born, where my father got his PhD from Harvard. After a childhood in New Haven (Yale) my father became a professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where I and my two younger sisters, grew up. Ours was a musical family, and we all played instruments: I studied the piano and cello, majoring in Music and playing in orchestras and chamber groups, though I wrote plays and poetry throughout my college years, edited the college arts magazine etc. Both my sisters were violinists.
Were either of your parents or grandparents (or any other relatives) writers? If not, were any of your relatives actively interested in literature?
The family was naturally
literary: both my mother and father read aloud to their children, and by the
age of 12 or so I knew a great deal of English poetry (Romanctics and
Victorians) by heart. My mother wrote (unsuccessful) novels, was politically
engaged a member of the League of Voters, etc.
Are any of your siblings
writers or involved in a creative profession?
My sister Laura C. Stevenson
(having gone deaf, like myself) has written three novels for young adults and a
splendid book on British Children’s Writers of the Golden Age
(Victorian/Edwardian). My sister Diana is a professional violinist, married to
a professional violinist.
What was the first poem (or who was the first poet) that turned you on to poetry?
Probably Lord MacCaulay’s
“Lays of Ancient Rome”: Horatius at the Bridge, etc. Ballads and Elizabethan
lyrics.
What age were you when you first began writing poetry, and did you receive any encouragement?
About 10 or 12. Yes,
encouragement from both parents and very good English teachers in High school.
When you started writing poetry did you have dreams about becoming a "professional" poet? If so, did anyone advise you against this course of action?
I always knew I would become a
poet. Don’t know how.
Did you ever get a poem
published in your school magazine?
Heavens, yes, The U. High
Magazine was called ‘Pegasus” and copies of it are in my Archive at Cambridge
University. 1948-1950, when I graduated.
Did you go to university, and
if so, which subjects did you study?
University of Michigan. Music.
Humanities. French and Italian, but not English.
When did you first start submitting to poetry magazines? And can you tell us how many rejections you received before having something accepted for publication? (And if you received many rejections, was this off-putting?)
First published in Poetry (Chicago)
in 1955, under my married name, Anne Hitchcock.
What was the worst rejection
you ever received?
Don’t remember. Lots and lots!
What was your first published poem? Which poetry magazine published it? And what year was it published?
See above.
Round about the time that you started seriously writing poetry, who were your literary heroes? And would you say they had an influence on your writing style?
W.B. Yeats, T.S.Eliot. Robert
Frost, Wallace Stevens.
Have you ever attended a creative writing course or been involved in a writers' group? If so, did you find it useful?
No. But I led a writers group
in Oxford in the 1970s (Old Fire Station Writers).
Q. When did you put together
your first collection of poetry?
1965, Living in American,
Michigan Generation Press.
How long did it take to get it accepted for publication? And, if appropriate, how many times was it rejected?
Published first in England in 1974.
“Travelling Behind Glass”. The collection was rejected several times until
accepted by Jon Stallworthy at OUP.
How long did you have to wait
between acceptance and final publication?
What sort of critical response
did you receive?
Nothing memorable except from
the OUP magazine.
Would you say that your
publisher actively promoted the book?
Not very much.
Did you do readings and
signings at bookshops to help promote the book?
No.
How many copies of the book
sold?
???
Is it still in print?
No.
At the beginning of your writing career did you enter any poetry competitions? Did you enter a lot or just a few?
I entered the first Arvon
competition, after that, none.
Which of your poetry books has been the most successful in terms of sales, and how many copies has it sold to date?
My latest book, Poems
1955-2005 (Bloodaxe), about 3000-4000 sold.
Have you won any awards for your poetry?
Scottish Writers Award, Cholmondley Award. A few others. Northern Rock Writers Award, 2002 (£60,000).
Do you make a living out of
poetry?
NO.
If not, do you make an adequate living through poetry related activities such as teaching creative writing workshops? Or do you have to supplement your income through unrelated activities?
No need. I am now 74, with a pension from teaching.
And a husband who is wise with investments!)
With the benefit of hindsight, are you glad that you pursued your dream of being a poet? Also, if you could turn the clock back, would you do anything different?
No.
If a young would-be poet
approached you, which poets would you recommend as vital reading?
Chaucer, Dante, Shakespeare,
George Herbert, John Donne, Yeats, Auden, Emily Dickenson, Elizabeth Bishop,
T.S.Eliot.
Which poetry magazines would
you recommend him or her to subscribe to?
Poetry Review, PN Review,
Poetry (Chicago).
Assuming that this would-be poet showed some promise, would you advise him or her to pursue a "career" in poetry?
Probably not. Poetry is not a
career but a vocation. Aiming for a career can silence the voice within
forever. Ambition to publish is particularly dangerous these days, when so much
bad, unnecessary and mediocre poetry, being brilliantly marketed, wins undeserved
prizes.
If so, what further advice
would you give him or her?
Study other languages, natural
sciences, history, philosophy. Keep the fact that you write poetry a secret
until you know you can do it!
Finally (and extremely hypothetically), you are selected to appear on the hit reality TV show, "Desert Island Poets", where you are marooned on a tropical island for three months with a typewriter and several reams of paper. You are provided with all necessary provisions, but you are only allowed to take three books with you. Your appearance fee is more than you could hope to earn in a decade and the show is so popular that all previous participants have become best-selling poets. So, would you participate? And if so, which three books would you take with you?
I suppose so. The new Oxford
Complete Shakespeare. The King James Bible. An
Illustrated Guide to the birds, beats and flowers of the Island,
supposing such a book existed.
See Anne Stevenson's
publications list
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