Lorine Niedecker

This is the first full-length biography of this critically acclaimed but little-known American poet. Niedecker (1903–70) was an obscure figure during her lifetime, living mainly in rural Wisconsin. She refused public appearances and worked menial and clerical jobs. It was not until her second marriage late in life that she was able to spend focused time on her writing. Her reputation has increased as more of her poetry has been published posthumously. Peters (May Sarton), an award-winning biographer and Wisconsin resident, provides insight into the life of this resilient writer, including her interesting local relationships and the influence of the Wisconsin landscape on her work. Despite her relative isolation, Niedecker maintained a decades-long correspondence and friendship with modernist poet Louis Zukofsky, and her spare, intense verse was praised by William Carlos Williams, Denise Levertov, and Allen Ginsberg.