Smith, William Jay

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 22 April 1918 - 18 August 2015

Biography

The poet William Jay Smith was born on April 22, 1918, in Winnfield, Louisiana, and grew up in Missouri. He got his A.B. and M.A. degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. Smith married poet Barbara Howes in 1947 and moved to Europe. The couple divorced in the mid-1960s, and Smith later married Sonja Haussmann. Back in the States, Smith taught at Williams College, Columbia University, and Hollins University. Smith’s poetry has been admired for its adherence to traditional poetic styles; his work was often published in The Sewanee Review and The Southern Review. Two of his poetry collections were finalists for the National Book Award. Smith died in 2015, and his papers are housed at Washington University at St. Louis.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Tate, Allen - Poem - “At Delphi” by William Jay Smith for Allen Tate on his 75th birthday, November 19, 1974

 Item — Box 4: [Barcode: 30081049197639], Folder: 13
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains materials on the Fugitive Poets and the Nashville Agrarians. Most of the materials have to do with the years in the 1920s when the Fugitive poet group was formed and the resulting poems, manuscripts, and correspondence. In addition there are a few items, mostly articles, that concern the Agrarian group. The Collection contains many items of unique interest including poems that were read at the Fugitive meetings and correspondence that records the national and...
Dates: November 19, 1974
Found in: Vanderbilt University Special Collections / MSS.0160, Fugitive and Agrarian Collection / Materials on individual Fugitives and Agrarians

 

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