Larry Patrick Levis

Larry Patrick Levis (September 30, 1946 – May 8, 1996) was an American poet. The son of a grape grower, he grew up driving a tractor, picking grapes, and pruning vines of Selma, California, a small fruit-growing town in the San Joaquin Valley.

Larry Levis

• Born: September 30, 1946 Fresno, California
• Died: May 8, 1996 (aged 49) Richmond, Virginia
• Occupation: Poet, teacher
• Nationality: American
• Education: Fresno State College (BA, 1968); Syracuse University (MA,1970); University of Iowa (Ph.D, 1974)
• Notable works: Winter Stars (1985); The Widening Spell of the Leaves (1992); The Darkening Trapeze (2016)[1]
• Notable awards: National Poetry Series, Lamont Poetry Selection
• Years active: 1972–1996
• Spouse: Marcia Southwick
• Children: Nicholas Levis

Levis earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State College (now California State University) in 1968 where he studied under Philip Levine. He earned a masters degree from Syracuse University (1970), and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa (1974).

Levis won the United States Award from the International Poetry Forum for his first book of poems, Wrecking Crew (1972). The American Academy of Poets named his second book, The Afterlife (1976) as Lamont Poetry Selection. His book The Dollmaker's Ghost was a winner of the Open Competition of the National Poetry Series. Other awards included a YM-YWHA Discovery award, three fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Levis taught English at the University of Missouri (1974-1980) then, from 1980 to 1992, he was an associate professor at the University of Utah where he directed the creative writing program. From 1992 until his death in 1996, he was a professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University. Levis was also a faculty member of the Warren Wilson College master of fine arts Creative Writing Program.