Elizabeth Jennings
Elizabeth Jennings (1926-2001) was a prominent English poet known for her contributions to 20th-century literature. Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, and raised in Oxford, she developed a passion for poetry during her youth, particularly influenced by the anxieties of World War II and her Catholic faith. After graduating from St. Anne's College at Oxford University, Jennings worked in various literary roles, including as a librarian and a poetry reviewer for the Daily Telegraph.
Her poetic career began in earnest with the publication of her first book, *Poems*, in 1953, which established her association with The Movement, a group of Oxford poets. Jennings distinguished herself as the only woman featured in Robert Conquest's *New Lines Anthology* in 1956. Throughout her life, she experienced personal challenges, including a mental breakdown in the early 1960s, which influenced her work, notably in her collection *Recoveries: Poems*.
She later experimented with free verse in *Extending the Territory* and translated Michelangelo's Sonnets. Jennings received several accolades for her literary contributions, including the W. H. Smith Literary Award and recognition as a Commander of the British Empire. Her legacy includes a rich body of poetry and literary criticism, alongside her lifelong residence in Oxford, where she remained engaged with her creative endeavors until her passing.
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Elizabeth Jennings
Poet
- Born: July 18, 1926
- Birthplace: Boston, Lincolnshire, England
- Died: October 26, 2001
- Place of death:
Biography
Elizabeth Jennings who was born in 1926 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the daughter of Henry Cecil Jennings, a physician. When she was six years old, the family moved to Oxford, England, were she attended the local schools. In 1939, the year that World War II began, she became interested in poetry and began to write about her anxieties occasioned by the war and by her religious concerns; Jennings was raised a Catholic and remained a devout one her entire life. She attended St. Anne’s College at Oxford University, where she received her degree in 1949. She then served as a librarian at the Oxford city library from 1950 to 1958 before becoming a reader at Chatto and Windus, a publishing company where she worked for two years.
Some of her poems appeared in Oxford Poetry, 1948, and her first book of verse, Poems, was published in 1953. Her work, like that of other notable Oxford poets, such as Philip Larkin and Thom Gunn, was later included in anthologies published by the Oxford University Press and edited by Kingsley Amis and James Michie. She came to be associated with The Movement, a group of Oxford poets. She was the only woman whose work was included in Robert Conquest’s New Lines Anthology (1956).
After leaving Chatto and Windus, Jennings became the poetry reviewer for the Daily Telegraph. In the early 1960’s she experienced a mental breakdown that led to her hospitalization, an experience that she later used in Recoveries: Poems. During her illness, she wrote some experimental verse, but after her recovery she disowned these poems, which did not appear in later collections. She continued to write poetry throughout her life, claiming to write speedily with little revision.
In 1985, Jennings broke with her customary poetic practice to publish Extending the Territory, in which she used free verse. Her travels to Italy became the focus of some of her poetry collections, and she translated Michelangelo’s Sonnets from the original Italian. Her Collected Poems, 1953-1985 won the W. H. Smith Literary Award in 1987, and in 1992 she was honored as a Commander of the British Empire.
In addition to her verse, she wrote a book about poet Robert Frost, whose work influenced her, and Seven Men of Vision, a book of literary criticism. She also edited several collections of poetry. Once engaged but never married, she was a lifelong resident of Oxford. Jennings died in 2001.