Stanley Burnshaw

Stanley Burnshaw
Born Stanley Burnshaw
June 20, 1906(1906-06-20)
New York City, New York
Died September 16, 2005(2005-09-16) (aged 99)
Martha's Vinyard in Massachusetts
Cause of death Old Age
Education University of Pittsburgh, Columbia University, University of Poitiers, Sorbonne, Cornell University
Influenced by Andre Spire, Robert Frost
Spouse Susan Cohen Oken
Children Valerie Razavi-daughter

Stanley Burnshaw was an influential American poet, primarily known for his ontology, The Seamless Web (1970). His style was particularly writing political poems, prose, editorials, etc. Aside from political poetry, Burnshaw is known for his works on social justice.

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Family life

Raised by his parents, who immigrated form England, Stanley Burnshaw was born and brought up in New York City. There aren't many detailed depictions of his childhood, but in his later years Burnshaw wrote two poems giving light on that time period of his life. The first was a poem entitled "My Friend, My Father" which was about his childhood from the viewpoint of his father, and the second about his mother entitled "House in St. Petersburg". Burnshaw married Susan Cohen Oken. They had one daughter, Valeri Razavi, and later became the grandparents to one grandson.

Education

Burnshaw began his secondary education at the University of Pittsburgh, transferred to Columbia University, and then transferred back to the University of Pittsburgh again to earn his Bachelor's Degree. After saving up money, Burnshaw traveled to Europe in 1927 to attend the University of Poitiers and eventually Sorbonne University. Then in 1928, he returned to New York to attend graduate school at New York University and earned his Masters degree.

Career

Earning his Bachelors Degree, attending his graduate studies, and eventually earning his Masters Degree, Burnshaw made a career plan to become a teacher and a writer. To save money and get started in his future career, Burnshaw started working at the Blaw-Knox Steel Corporation in Blawnox, Pennsylvania as an assistant copywriter. After he returned from Europe, Burnshaw began working at the Hecht Company in New York as an advertising manager. Resigning from the Hecht Company in 1932, his next job was doing multiple duties (co-editor, drama critic, and occasional book reviewer) for The New Masses, a weekly editorial in New York City. In the 1930s Burnshaw got more interested in publishing. He first became the editor-in-chief for the Cordon Company in New York, then president and editor-in-chief of the Dryden Press (a firm he started) which merged with Holt, Rinehart and Winston in the late 1950s. Until 1968 Bradshaw was a consultant to the house and vice-president of of Dryden Press. He published many prose, poems, books, editorials, and remained active in many other aspects of his career until his death in September 2005.

Influences

One of Bradshaw's first major influences was Andre Spire, a French poet. He helped Bradshaw gain knowledge of many European languages, and European literature. Another influence on Bradshaw's life and career was one of his better friends, Robert Frost, with whom he spent many occasions, and wrote a biography about.

Works

Sources