Was Featured on:

Air dates:
WMHT-TV, Channel 17, Saturday, February 6, 1999, 6:00 pm
WMHQ-TV, Channel 45, Wednesday, February 10, 1999, 9:30 pm
Taping was done during his October 17, 1996 seminar and reading.

Philip Levine's 15th collection of poetry, The Simple Truth, won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. Publishers Weekly praised The Simple Truth by noting "the 'simplicity' of his language, offering an ease of approach to us, seems to give truth (and poetry) to everyone."

Levine's poetry is grounded in the harsh reality of contemporary life. He describes his poetry as an attempt to create "a voice for the voiceless." His acclaimed early volumes include Not This Pig (1968), They Feed They Lion (1972), Ashes (1979), which received the American Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and 7 Years From Somewhere (1979) which also received the National Book Critics Circle Award. He also has written The Bread of Time: Toward an Autobiography (1994), nine essays which focus on a particular person or place important in the author's life.

"one of our quintessentially urban poets." - Edward Hirsch, New York Times Book Review

"Levine's poems are important because in them we hear and we care. . .[He] is destined to become one of the most celebrated poets of the time." - Richard Hugho, American Poetry Review

"Levine's poetic world values reality above all else, a reality that is reinforced by his earthy language, colloquial syntax, and natural rhythms." - Robert D. Spector, Saturday Review

"Ashes shows him easily in command of his full powers; it is a stunning book from one of our most powerful and masterful poets." - Peter Stitt, The Georgia Review

Featured Link:
Writers Online Magazine Article
Transcript of Afternoon Seminar October 17, 1996
Philip Levine featured on "The Writer"

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.