Date of Birth: January 10, 1928
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Date of Death: February 14, 2015
Biography
Philip Levine was an acclaimed American poet renowned for his work that often depicted the lives of the working class. Born on January 10, 1928, in Detroit, Michigan, Levine grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood, which heavily influenced his poetry. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wayne State University in 1950 and later received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1957. Levine’s early work drew from his experiences working in car manufacturing plants in Detroit, capturing the grit and resilience of factory life. Levine published more than 20 collections of poetry over his career, including notable works such as “What Work Is,” which won the National Book Award in 1991, and “The Simple Truth,” which earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1995. He was also the recipient of numerous other awards, including the Wallace Stevens Award and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. From 2011 to 2012, Levine served as the Poet Laureate of the United States, a testament to his significant influence on American literature. Throughout his career, Levine was dedicated to teaching and mentored countless young poets during his tenure at California State University, Fresno, where he taught from 1958 until his retirement in 1992. He passed away on February 14, 2015, leaving behind a legacy of lyrical and poignant explorations of labor, identity, and the human condition.
5 Interesting Facts about Philip Levine
1. Philip Levine’s poetry often focused on the lives and struggles of the working class, drawing from his own experiences in Detroit’s auto factories.
2. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1995 for his collection “The Simple Truth.”
3. Levine served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2011 to 2012.
4. He was awarded the National Book Award for Poetry twice, in 1980 for “Ashes: Poems New & Old” and in 1991 for “What Work Is.”
5. Levine was a dedicated educator, teaching for over three decades at California State University, Fresno.
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Philip Levine
1. “For me, writing has always felt like praying, even when I wasn’t writing prayers.”
2. “I believed even in high school that a poet was somehow the conscience of his or her culture.”
3. “A poet’s job is to find a name for everything: to be a fearless finder of the names of things.”
4. “The irony is, going to work every day became a way of not having to think about my poetry.”
5. “I realized poetry was the place where I could express my feelings most honestly.”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
Philip Levine’s highest net worth was estimated to be around $1 million at the peak of his career.
Children
Philip Levine had three children with his wife, Frances J. Artley: Mark, John, and Theodore.
Relevant Links
2. [Philip Levine – Academy of American Poets](https://poets.org/poet/philip-levine
5. [Philip Levine – Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/n50035245/philip-levine/
