Anne Stevenson

Anne Stevenson is an American-British poet and writer.Stevenson’s parents Louise Destler Stevenson and C.L. Stevenson met at a Cincinnati High School.

They were living in Cambridge, England, where Charles was studying philosophy under I. A. Richards and Wittgenstein, when their first daughter, Anne was born.

The family returned to America when Anne was six months old, moving to New Haven, her father going on to teach at universities including Harvard and Yale.

Date of birth:
3rd January, 1933
"Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Poetry
"I don’t like poetry that just slaps violent words on a canvas, as it were."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Poetry
"I have always made my own rules, in poetry as in life – though I have tried of late to cooperate more with my family. I do, however, believe that without order or pattern poetry is useless."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Poetry
"A poem might be defined as thinking about feelings – about human feelings and frailties."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Poetry
"Yes, I do often write poems from the mind, but I hope I don’t ignore feelings and emotions."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Hope
"Poets should ignore most criticism and get on with making poetry."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Poetry
"I dislike literary jargon and never use it. Criticism has only one function and that is to help readers read and understand literature. It is not a science, it is an aid to art."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Science
"I did know Ted Hughes and I partly wrote the book to explain to myself and others the complexities of a marriage that was for six years wonderfully productive of poetry and then ended in tragedy."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Marriage
"I’m not really quiet or shy. Ask any of my friends! But I always ground my poetry in life itself. Poetry is an art of language, though, so I am always aware of every word’s meaning, or multiple meanings."
― Anne Stevenson
Topic(s): Poetry

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