Enid Dame
Encyclopedia
Enid Dame was an American poet
, fiction writer, teacher, editor
, and publisher. For many years, she and her husband, poet Donald Lev, lived in Brooklyn
and in High Falls, New York
, where they edited and published the literary tabloid Home Planet News. She was on the faculty of the New Jersey Institute of Technology
and Rutgers University
in New Brunswick
, where she served as Associate Director of the Writing Program.
Dame's poems explored themes of urban life, Jewish history and identity, and political activism. She examined contemporary women's lives in persona poems that take on the voice of Eve
, Lilith
, or other woman from Jewish tradition. These poems often locate a kernel of feminist rebellion in familiar Biblical stories. The 2007 anthology Broken Land: Poems of Brooklyn, edited by Julia Kasdorf
and Michael Tyrell
, was dedicated to her memory.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, fiction writer, teacher, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, and publisher. For many years, she and her husband, poet Donald Lev, lived in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and in High Falls, New York
High Falls, New York
High Falls is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 627 at the 2000 census.High Falls is located in Marbletown, near the town boundary with Rosendale.-Geography:...
, where they edited and published the literary tabloid Home Planet News. She was on the faculty of the New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
and Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
, where she served as Associate Director of the Writing Program.
Dame's poems explored themes of urban life, Jewish history and identity, and political activism. She examined contemporary women's lives in persona poems that take on the voice of Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
, Lilith
Lilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
, or other woman from Jewish tradition. These poems often locate a kernel of feminist rebellion in familiar Biblical stories. The 2007 anthology Broken Land: Poems of Brooklyn, edited by Julia Kasdorf
Julia Kasdorf
-Life:Julia Spicher Kasdorf is the author of three poetry collections--Sleeping Preacher , Eve's Striptease , and Poetry in America --all published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Sleeping Preacher won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize and the Great Lakes College’s Association Award for...
and Michael Tyrell
Michael Tyrell
Michael Tyrell is an American poet, editor, actor, and writing teacher.He received his MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has published his poems and reviews in many journals, including The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and The Paris Review. He studied acting at New York University, where he...
, was dedicated to her memory.
Her works
- Riding the D Train
- On the Road to Damascus, Maryland
- Lilith
- Lilith's New Career
- Lilith and Her Demons
- Dream Wedding
- Anything You Don't See
Further reading
- Poets on the Psalms featuring Enid Dame. Edited by Lynn Domina (Trinity University Press, 2008).