Works by
Larry Levis
(Aka Larry Patrick Levis)
(Poet, Writer)
[September 30, 1946 - May 4, 1996]

Poetry

• The Selected Levis (2000), David St. John, ed.
  Philip Levine eulogized Larry Levis by calling him "the most gifted and determined young poet I have ever had the good fortune to have in one of my classes...His early death is a staggering loss for our poetry, but what he left is a major achievement that will enrich our lives for as long as poetry matters." This paperback edition of The Selected Levis has been expanded to include poems from Elegy, Levis's last (and posthumous) collection.

• Elegy (1997)
  This collection of poems was written in the six years following the publication of Levis' book "The Widening Spell of the Leaves" and is published posthumously. It continues and extends jazz improvisations and culminates in the elegies written to a world of fragmented culture.

• The Widening Spell of the Leaves (1991)

• Winter Stars (1985)

• The Dollmaker's Ghost (1981)

• The Afterlife (1977) -- Winner Lamont Poetry Prize from the American Academy of Poets

• Wrecking Crew (1972)

Prose

• The Gazer Within (2000)
  The Gazer Within collects the prose of one of America's favorite poets. Refreshingly candid, laugh-out-loud funny, and, at the same time, intimate, the pieces trace Larry Levis's early years growing up on his father's farm, his decision at sixteen to become a poet, and his undergraduate experience in the days of the Vietnam War. In addition to memoir, there are critical reviews, including his seminal essay on the poet Philip Levine, and reviews of poets as diverse as W. D. Snodgrass and Zbigniew Herbert.
  
  David St. John's foreword speaks eloquently of Levis's enduring legacy: "Of the poets of his generation, Larry Levis spoke most powerfully of what it means to be a poet at this historical moment. With the same majesty he brought to his poetry, Larry Levis engaged his readers with the most subtle and disturbing questions of the self to be found in the prose--essays, reviews or interviews--of any contemporary American poet. Broadly international in his scope and deeply personal in his reflections, Levis addressed poetic concerns that are both immediate and timeless. For many of us who struggle with these issues, Larry Levis's prose on poetry stands as some of the most capacious to be found since Randall Jarrell's.

Short Stories

• Black Freckles (1992)

See also:

• Biography - Larry Levis (Patrick) (2007)
  An article from: Contemporary Authors by Gale Reference Team, Digital - HTML

• Condition Of The Spirit: The Life And Work Of Larry Levis (2004) by Christopher Buckley and Alexander Long

• Larry Levis (1978) by Larry Levis and Thomas Lux
  Audio CD