Robin Becker (born March 7, 1951)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Robin Becker (born March 7, 1951) is an American poet, critic, feminist, and professor. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is author of seven collections of poetry, most recently, Domain of Perfect Affection (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006). Her All-American Girl (University of Pittsburgh Press), won the 1996 Lambda Literary Award in Poetry. Becker earned a B.A. in 1973 and an M.A. from Boston University in 1976. She resides in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania and spends her summers on the North Fork of Long Island.

Becker taught for seventeen years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and currently and is Professor of English and Women's Studies at Pennsylvania State University, where she has taught since 1993. She also teaches workshops such as those at the Summer Program Poetry Workshops at The Fine Arts Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

“Becker grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories, learning from her the nuances of storytelling and her family’s history in Ukraine. Becker was also greatly influenced by the women writers whose poetry was available in the 1970s, including Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Maxine Kumin, Denise Levertov, and Susan Griffin.“

Her first two books were published by Alice James Books, the first in 1977, Personal Effects (a three-poet anthology, including Robin Becker, Helena Minton and Marilyn Zuckerman), which makes her one of the earliest cooperative members of the press, which was founded in 1973, so it seems fitting that Ed Ochester has said that "Robin is one of the most varied of the poets on the Pitt list in her style and subject matter--and the foremost feminist poet of her generation.”

In her biography of Robin Becker, Heidi Ogrodnek writes, “She is known for her work in Lesbian and Gay studies and served as visiting scholar at the Center for Lesbian and Gay studies at the CUNY in 1998. She has said, 'Feminist scholarship and Gay and Lesbian poetry have provided me with the tools with which to work.' Her collections of poetry develop precise, delicate imagery and… depict her own transition from girlhood to womanhood… Maxine Kumin has also been a tremendous inspiration to Becker...[she] learned that 'woman poets could celebrate their lives and not position themselves as victims in every story.'"

Her poems, essays, and book reviews have appeared in publications including Slate The American Poetry Review, The Boston Globe, Gettysburg Review, AGNI, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Best American Poetry 2008. She has published book reviews in many venues, and writes a column on contemporary poetry called Field Notes for the Women's Review of Books, where she serves as Contributing and Poetry Editor. Her honors include fellowships from The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies of the City University of New York, The William Steeple Davis Foundation, the Mary Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College, and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Becker

Further Readings:

Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States by Emmanuel S. Nelson
Hardcover: 762 pages
Publisher: Greenwood; 1 edition (July 14, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0313348596
ISBN-13: 978-0313348594
Amazon: Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States
Amazon Kindle: Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States

Comprehensive in scope and accessible to students and general readers, Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United StateS≪/i> explores contemporary American LGBTQ literature and its social, political, cultural, and historical contexts. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries written by expert contributors. Students of literature and popular culture will appreciate the encyclopedia's insightful survey and discussion of LGBTQ authors and their works, while students of history and social issues will value the encyclopedia's use of literature to explore LGBTQ American society.

Each entry is written by an expert contributor and lists additional sources of information. To further enhance study and understanding, the encyclopedia closes with a selected general bibliography of print and electronic resources for student research.

More Particular Voices at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Particular Voices