Poet. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, the eldest son of Owen and Ann Campbell Jarrell. Jarrell attended Vanderbilt, graduating in 1935 and taking a graduate degree three years later. Between 1939 and 1942 he was an English professor at the University of Texas, when he enlisted the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as a control tower operator. His first book of poems, ‘Blood for a Stranger,' was published in 1942. His second and third collections, ‘Little Friend, Little Friend,' published in 1945 and ‘Losses,' appearing in 1948 drew heavily on his wartime experiences. Postwar, Jarrell developed a reputation as the most astute poetry critic of his time. He accepted a teaching post at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1947 and remained there for the remainder of his career. He also served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for the Library of Congress from 1956 to 1958. His collection ‘The Woman at the Washington Zoo' was published in 1960, winning the prestigious National Book Award. At the age of 51, while walking along a road in Chapel Hill near dusk, Jarrell was struck by a car and killed. His ‘Complete Poems' appeared posthumously in 1969, and a selection of his critical essays, ‘No Other Book,' was published in 2000.
Poet. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, the eldest son of Owen and Ann Campbell Jarrell. Jarrell attended Vanderbilt, graduating in 1935 and taking a graduate degree three years later. Between 1939 and 1942 he was an English professor at the University of Texas, when he enlisted the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as a control tower operator. His first book of poems, ‘Blood for a Stranger,' was published in 1942. His second and third collections, ‘Little Friend, Little Friend,' published in 1945 and ‘Losses,' appearing in 1948 drew heavily on his wartime experiences. Postwar, Jarrell developed a reputation as the most astute poetry critic of his time. He accepted a teaching post at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1947 and remained there for the remainder of his career. He also served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for the Library of Congress from 1956 to 1958. His collection ‘The Woman at the Washington Zoo' was published in 1960, winning the prestigious National Book Award. At the age of 51, while walking along a road in Chapel Hill near dusk, Jarrell was struck by a car and killed. His ‘Complete Poems' appeared posthumously in 1969, and a selection of his critical essays, ‘No Other Book,' was published in 2000.
Bio by: Iola
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