Selected Letters

Author, artist, literary critic and translator Guy Davenport was born on November 23, 1927 in Anderson, South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 1948 and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar. He earned a Bachelor of Literature from Merton College, Oxford University in 1950 and a Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard show more University in 1961. He taught English at several universities from 1951 until his retirement in 1990. He received numerous awards including the O. Henry Award for short stories, the 1981 Morton Douwen Zabel award for fiction from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and translation awards from PEN and the Academy of American Poets. He died on January 4, 2005 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

James Laughlin (October 30, 1914 - November 12, 1997) was an American poet and literary book publisher who founded New Directions Publishing. Laughlin won the 1992 Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award from the National Book Awards Program. The Academy of American Poets' James Laughlin award, for a poet's second book, is named in show more his honor. Laughlin's works include: The House of Light, The Man in the Wall, The Country Road, Byways: A Memoir. Laughlin died of stroke complications at age 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less