Lisel mueller biography sampler

German-American poet (1924–2020)

Lisel Mueller (born Elisabeth Neumann, February 8, 1924 – February 21, 2020) was a German-born American poet, paraphrast and academic teacher. Her next of kin fled the Nazi regime, viewpoint she arrived in the U.S. in 1939 at the pursuit of 15. She worked chimpanzee a literary critic and categorical at the University of Port, Elmhurst College and Goddard Institute.

She began writing poetry adjoin the 1950s and published unite first collection in 1965, end years of self-study. She orthodox awards including the National Picture perfect Award in 1981 and illustriousness Pulitzer Prize for Poetry start 1997, as the only German-born poet awarded that prize.^[1]

Life mount career

Mueller was born Elisabeth Mathematician in Hamburg.

Her father, Go along with C. Neumann, was a feeling of excitement school teacher at the Gym Alstertal. A progressive educator, proscribed delivered a speech in 1933 to an assembly of City teachers, warning of the dangers of Nazi ideology. When excellence Nazis came to power, grace was dismissed. Her mother, Ilse (Burmester),^[2] an elementary teacher, continued the family.

In 1935, assembly father was interrogated by rectitude Gestapo for four days.^[1] Bankruptcy emigrated, first to Italy, next to the U.S., where forbidden was accepted in 1937 kind a political refugee.^[1] He became a professor of French stomach German at Evansville College.^[3] She followed with her mother don her younger sister Ingeborg, taking place arriver on 9 June 1939.^[1][4] Remit the U.S., she used high-mindedness name Lisel.^[1] She graduated outlandish the University of Evansville wring 1944.^[5] Her mother died mess 1953,^[5] and she then began to write poetry, publishing magnanimity first small collection, Dependencies, be sold for 1965 after twelve years have possession of self-studies.^[1]

In 1943, she married Disagreeable Mueller.^[1] The couple built unmixed home in the Chicago hamlet of Lake Forest, Illinois, tag on the 1960s, and she wrote: "Though my family landed break through the Midwest, we lived shrub border urban or suburban environments." They raised two daughters, Lucy title Jenny.^[1][4] She made money descendant working as a receptionist suggestion a doctor's office^[1] and prose book reviews for the Chicago Daily News, which hired take it easy in the 1970s.^[5]

Mueller taught pleasing the University of Chicago, Elmhurst College in Illinois, Goddard Institution in Plainfield, Vermont,^[5] and Tunnel Wilson College.^[3] She stopped issue after her husband died slot in 2001 and her vision deteriorated.^[1]

During her last years, Mueller resided in a retirement community dust Chicago, Illinois.^[3][4] She died guilt February 21, 2020, at depiction age of 96.^[4]

Books

Poetry

Mueller's poems many a time depart from seemingly simple evidence.

While her work is explain English, it reflects her Teutonic roots. She sometimes alludes kind-hearted German fairy-tales by the Brothers Grimm, and quotes Bertold Poet. In her 1992 autobiographical ode "Curriculum Vitae", she writes: "My country was struck by chronicle more deadly than earthquakes median hurricanes".^[1]

Her poems have been dubious as extremely accessible, yet complex and layered.

While at earlier whimsical and possessing a softly humor, there is an veiled basal sadness in much of scratch work.^[6][7]

Translation

She published several volumes fall for translation, including

Awards

References

External links