Edward Field | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1924-06-07)June 7, 1924 (age 100) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, author |
| Partner | Neil Derrick (died 2018) |
| Awards | Lamont Poetry Prize (Academy of American Poets) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service | United States Army Air Forces |
| Rank | Officer |
| Unit | 8th Air Force |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Edward Field (born June 7, 1924) is an American poet and author of fiction and non-fiction, as well as anthologies and periodicals.
Field was born inBrooklyn, New York City, to a family ofAshkenazi immigrants. He grew up inLynbrook, New York, and, being Jewish,[1][2] he and his family facedantisemitism and discrimination. He played cello in the "Field Family Trio", which had a weekly radio program onWGBBFreeport. He served inWorld War II in the8th Air Force in England and France, as a navigator in heavy bombers, and flew 25 missions over Germany. In February 1945, he took part in a raid on Berlin with hisB-17. His bomber was crippled by flak and crash-landed in theNorth Sea. All ten crew members made it into the plane's life rafts, but only seven of them managed to resist until the moment they were rescued by a British air-sea boat hours later.
He began writing poetry during World War II, after a Red Cross worker handed him an anthology of poetry. In 1963, Field's bookStand Up, Friend, With Me was awarded the prestigiousLamont Poetry Prize and was published. In 1992, he received aLambda Award forCounting Myself Lucky, Selected Poems 1963–1992.[3]
Field's other honors include theShelley Memorial Award, aRome Prize, and anAcademy Award for the documentary filmTo Be Alive!, for which he wrote the narration. He received theBill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement fromPublishing Triangle in 2005.
In 1979, he edited the anthologyA Geography of Poets, and in 1992, withGerald Locklin andCharles Stetler, brought out a sequel,A New Geography of Poets.
He and his partner Neil Derrick (1931–2018),[4] long-time residents of Greenwich Village, wrote a best-selling historical novel about the Village,The Villagers. They were both artists in residence atWestbeth Artists Community since 1972.[5] Derrick died on January 5, 2018. As of 2018, Field continued to reside at Westbeth.[6] Field's narrative poem "World War II" is part of thePoets of World War II anthology, published by theLibrary of America and edited byHarvey Shapiro.
In 2005, the University of Wisconsin Press published his literary memoirsThe Man Who Would Marry Susan Sontag and Other Intimate Literary Portraits of the Bohemian Era, the title of which refers to the writerAlfred Chester.[7] His most recent bookAfter the Fall: Poems Old and New was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2007.
British editorDiana Athill'sInstead of a Book: Letters to a Friend (Granta Books, 2011) is a collection of letters from her to Field chronicling their intimate correspondence spanning more than 30 years.[8][9]
In 2019, Field's niece Diane Weis produced the animated filmMinor Accident of War, inspired by his memories of survival during the World War II. Designed by Piotr Kabat, the film is narrated by Field using the text from his poem "World War II".[10]
Fieldturned 100 on June 7, 2024.[11]
Poetry and essays inThe New Yorker,The New York Review of Books,Gay & Lesbian Review,Partisan Review,The Nation,Evergreen Review,The New York Times Book Review,Michigan Quarterly,Raritan Quarterly Review,Parnassus, andThe Kenyon Review.
