Hazel Hall

Hazel Hall (February 7, 1886 – May 11, 1924) was an American poet based in Portland, Oregon.

Life

Hall was born on February 7, 1886 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. As a young girl, she moved to Portland, Oregon with her family. After surviving scarlet fever at the age of twelve, she used wheelchair for the rest of her life. She worked as a seamstress, and in her twenties, she began writing poetry.[1]

Her first published poem was "To an English Sparrow", which appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript in 1916. Her work appeared in The Century Magazine, Harper's Magazine, The New Republic,[2] The Nation, Poetry, Yale Review, and Literary Review.

Reviewer Pearl Andelson of Poetry said this of Hall's first collection, Curtains, in 1922, "Comes Hazel Hall with her little book, every word and emotion of which is poignantly authentic."[3]

She died on May 11, 1924 in Portland, Oregon.

Legacy

Hall's home, located at 106 NW 22nd Place in Portland, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Hazel Hall House.[4] In 1995, the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission erected a small park next to the house.[5]

The Oregon Book Award for poetry is jointly named for Hall and fellow Oregon poet William Stafford.[6] The organization that sponsors the awards, Literary Arts, refers to Hall as the "Emily Dickinson of Oregon".[6]

Awards

Works

Books

Anthologies

References

External links