Holly Bright Stevens was the daughter of the American poet, Wallace Stevens, and his wife, Elsie Kachel. She was born on August 10, 1924 in Hartford, Connecticut.
From the age of 5 until she was 17, Holly attended the Oxford School for Girls (now the Kingswood Oxford School) in Hartford. In the fall of 1941 she enrolled at Vassar, but withdrew from the school in November of 1942.
After leaving Vassar Holly found employment at the Aetna Life and Casualty insurance company in Hartford, where she soon became an underwriter, one of the first women to hold such a position at the company. While working there she met John M. Hanchak, whom she married on August 5, 1944 in Pleasant Valley, NY. They had a son (born April 26, 1947) before divorcing in September of 1951.
In 1955 Holly got a job as a purchasing assistant at Trinity College in Hartford. While working there she met Duncan Stephenson, who was a student at Trinity. They married on August 24, 1957 in Hartford, CT. They would eventually divorce in December of 1965.
In 1964 Holly left her position at Trinity to prepare a volume of her father's letters for publication. It was released in 1966 as "The Letters of Wallace Stevens."
In 1971 Holly received a senior fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to finish preparing a volume of her father's unpublished poems. This was released in 1972 under the title "The Palm at the End of the Mind." She then spent several years preparing a book on her father's childhood and youth, i.e., "Souvenirs and Prophecies: The Young Wallace Stevens," which was published in 1976.
For a number of years Holly worked at the Yale Review, first as advertising manager, then as the business manager, a position she held until 1977. Like her father, she loved classical music, and from 1975 - 1985 she served on the New Haven Symphony Orchestra's board of directors.
Holly was dedicated to poetry: to her father's, specifically, and to poetry in general. In 1963 she founded the New England Poetry Circuit and served as its director until 1968.
Holly spent a significant portion of her adult life assembling, editing, and then arranging the publication of her father's journals, letters and poems. We would know much less about Wallace Stevens, and our understanding of his poems would be a lot poorer, if not for her devotion to her father and his work.
Holly passed away in Guilford, Connecticut from lung cancer on March 4, 1992. At the time of her death she was survived by her son and two grandchildren.
Holly Bright Stevens was the daughter of the American poet, Wallace Stevens, and his wife, Elsie Kachel. She was born on August 10, 1924 in Hartford, Connecticut.
From the age of 5 until she was 17, Holly attended the Oxford School for Girls (now the Kingswood Oxford School) in Hartford. In the fall of 1941 she enrolled at Vassar, but withdrew from the school in November of 1942.
After leaving Vassar Holly found employment at the Aetna Life and Casualty insurance company in Hartford, where she soon became an underwriter, one of the first women to hold such a position at the company. While working there she met John M. Hanchak, whom she married on August 5, 1944 in Pleasant Valley, NY. They had a son (born April 26, 1947) before divorcing in September of 1951.
In 1955 Holly got a job as a purchasing assistant at Trinity College in Hartford. While working there she met Duncan Stephenson, who was a student at Trinity. They married on August 24, 1957 in Hartford, CT. They would eventually divorce in December of 1965.
In 1964 Holly left her position at Trinity to prepare a volume of her father's letters for publication. It was released in 1966 as "The Letters of Wallace Stevens."
In 1971 Holly received a senior fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to finish preparing a volume of her father's unpublished poems. This was released in 1972 under the title "The Palm at the End of the Mind." She then spent several years preparing a book on her father's childhood and youth, i.e., "Souvenirs and Prophecies: The Young Wallace Stevens," which was published in 1976.
For a number of years Holly worked at the Yale Review, first as advertising manager, then as the business manager, a position she held until 1977. Like her father, she loved classical music, and from 1975 - 1985 she served on the New Haven Symphony Orchestra's board of directors.
Holly was dedicated to poetry: to her father's, specifically, and to poetry in general. In 1963 she founded the New England Poetry Circuit and served as its director until 1968.
Holly spent a significant portion of her adult life assembling, editing, and then arranging the publication of her father's journals, letters and poems. We would know much less about Wallace Stevens, and our understanding of his poems would be a lot poorer, if not for her devotion to her father and his work.
Holly passed away in Guilford, Connecticut from lung cancer on March 4, 1992. At the time of her death she was survived by her son and two grandchildren.
