Weldon Kees
Encyclopedia
Harry Weldon Kees was an American poet
, painter
, literary critic, novelist, jazz pianist, and short story
writer. Although he was something of a dilletante during his lifetime, dabbling in many different art-forms, today he is primarily remembered for his poetry.
, and educated at Doane College
, the University of Missouri
and the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1935. Kees wrote for Federal Writers' Project
in Lincoln, Nebraska
and began publishing poetry in small literary magazines like Prairie Schooner, Horizon
, Rocky Mountain Review. In 1937, he moved to Denver to take a job as Director of the Bibliographical Center of Research for the Rocky Mountain Region. That same year he married Ann Swan. According to the Modern American Poetry website, "A novel, Fall Quarter, was completed in 1941, but its whimsical tale of a young professor who battles the dreariness of staid Nebraskan college life was thought by publishers to be too droll for a year in which war seemed imminent (it was eventually published in 1990)."
He lived in New York from 1943 to 1950, writing for literary and mainstream publications including The New York Times
, Time
, Poetry
, and The New Republic
. His first book of poems The Last Man appeared in 1943, and his second, The Fall of Magicians, followed in 1947. In New York City
he began attending parties with literary critics like Edmund Wilson
, Dwight MacDonald
, Allen Tate
, and Lionel Trilling
.
Then he began to paint, and some of his works were exhibited alongside well-known abstract expressionists like Willem De Kooning
. He had an exhibition of his work at the Peridot Gallery, and one of his paintings also made it into a show at the Whitney Museum.
Tired of New York, he moved to San Francisco in 1950, where he began making experimental films, writing the music for short films made by other filmmakers, and "linking up with members of the San Francisco Renaissance [including Kenneth Rexroth
]." He also tried his hand at songwriting and studied and played jazz piano
.
At this time, he continued to write poetry, reviews, as well as screenplays. But despite all of this activity, "in the mid 1950s, Kees became increasingly depressed. . .[and] he divorced his wife in 1952." He published his last book, Poems, 1947-1954, in 1954.
was found on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge
with the keys in the ignition. According to Poetry.org, "[Kees] had told a friend that he wanted, like Hart Crane
, to start a new life in Mexico. He had also suggested that he might kill himself."
When his friends went to search his apartment, all they found were the cat he had named Lonesome and a pair of red socks in the sink. His sleeping bag and savings account book were missing. He left no note. No one is sure if Weldon Kees jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge that day or if he went to Mexico
, although suicide is presumed.
, although Kees functioned as a painter, photographer, film-maker and musician it was poetry that really mattered to him:
The poet Dana Gioia
has written, "The current literary reputation of Weldon Kees is both paradoxical and exemplary. It presents a paradox in that his work is held in high esteem by poets, especially younger ones, while it remains virtually unknown to academic critics."
According to Poetry.org, "[the poet] Donald Justice
called Kees 'among the three or four best of his generation.' Justice went on to note that 'Kees is original in one of the few ways that matter: he speaks to us in a voice or, rather, in a particular tone of voice which we have never heard before.'"
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...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, literary critic, novelist, jazz pianist, and short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer. Although he was something of a dilletante during his lifetime, dabbling in many different art-forms, today he is primarily remembered for his poetry.
Background
Kees was born in Beatrice, NebraskaBeatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska.Beatrice is located south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River. It is surrounded by agricultural country. The population was 12,459 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, and educated at Doane College
Doane College
Doane College is a private liberal arts college in Crete, Nebraska, United States, with additional campuses located in Lincoln and Grand Island.-History:...
, the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
and the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1935. Kees wrote for Federal Writers' Project
Federal Writers' Project
The Federal Writers' Project was a United States federal government project to fund written work and support writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program...
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and began publishing poetry in small literary magazines like Prairie Schooner, Horizon
Horizon (magazine)
Horizon: A Review of Literature and Art was an influential literary magazine published in London, between 1940 and 1949. It was edited by Cyril Connolly who gave a platform to a wide range of distinguished and emerging writers....
, Rocky Mountain Review. In 1937, he moved to Denver to take a job as Director of the Bibliographical Center of Research for the Rocky Mountain Region. That same year he married Ann Swan. According to the Modern American Poetry website, "A novel, Fall Quarter, was completed in 1941, but its whimsical tale of a young professor who battles the dreariness of staid Nebraskan college life was thought by publishers to be too droll for a year in which war seemed imminent (it was eventually published in 1990)."
He lived in New York from 1943 to 1950, writing for literary and mainstream publications including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Poetry
Poetry (magazine)
Poetry , published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Published by the Poetry Foundation and currently edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately...
, and The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
. His first book of poems The Last Man appeared in 1943, and his second, The Fall of Magicians, followed in 1947. In New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
he began attending parties with literary critics like Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson was an American writer and literary and social critic and noted man of letters.-Early life:Wilson was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father, Edmund Wilson, Sr., was a lawyer and served as New Jersey Attorney General. Wilson attended The Hill School, a college preparatory...
, Dwight MacDonald
Dwight Macdonald
Dwight Macdonald was an American writer, editor, film critic, social critic, philosopher, and political radical.-Early life and career:...
, Allen Tate
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
, and Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
.
Then he began to paint, and some of his works were exhibited alongside well-known abstract expressionists like Willem De Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
. He had an exhibition of his work at the Peridot Gallery, and one of his paintings also made it into a show at the Whitney Museum.
Tired of New York, he moved to San Francisco in 1950, where he began making experimental films, writing the music for short films made by other filmmakers, and "linking up with members of the San Francisco Renaissance [including Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth was an American poet, translator and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement...
]." He also tried his hand at songwriting and studied and played jazz piano
Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
.
At this time, he continued to write poetry, reviews, as well as screenplays. But despite all of this activity, "in the mid 1950s, Kees became increasingly depressed. . .[and] he divorced his wife in 1952." He published his last book, Poems, 1947-1954, in 1954.
Mysterious Death
On July 19, 1955, Kees's Plymouth SavoyPlymouth Savoy
The Plymouth Savoy is an automobile produced by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation of Highland Park, Michigan.Plymouth used the name Savoy on several automobiles. From 1951-1953, the Savoy name was used on a station wagon, upgrading the base model Suburban...
was found on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
with the keys in the ignition. According to Poetry.org, "[Kees] had told a friend that he wanted, like Hart Crane
Hart Crane
-Career:Throughout the early 1920s, small but well-respected literary magazines published some of Crane’s lyrics, gaining him, among the avant-garde, a respect that White Buildings , his first volume, ratified and strengthened...
, to start a new life in Mexico. He had also suggested that he might kill himself."
When his friends went to search his apartment, all they found were the cat he had named Lonesome and a pair of red socks in the sink. His sleeping bag and savings account book were missing. He left no note. No one is sure if Weldon Kees jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge that day or if he went to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, although suicide is presumed.
Literary Reputation
According to the critic Ian HamiltonIan Hamilton (critic)
Robert Ian Hamilton was a British literary critic, reviewer, biographer, poet, magazine editor and publisher....
, although Kees functioned as a painter, photographer, film-maker and musician it was poetry that really mattered to him:
In this field, he was never greatly honoured in his lifetime. This is a pity because, at his best, Kees has a lot to offer. There is an offputting bleakness in his work, but there is also a stoical-sardonic vein that can be more attractively engaging than, perhaps, it means to be. There is also an impressively quick eye for social detail. And the character called 'Robinson', a sort of professional-class PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, commonly known as Prufrock, is a poem by T. S. Eliot, begun in February 1910 and published in Chicago in June 1915. Described as a "drama of literary anguish," it presents a stream of consciousness in the form of a dramatic monologue, and marked the beginning of...
, has an almost loveable forbearance. Robinson takes life as it comes but this does not mean that he enjoys what comes, or wants much more of it.
The poet Dana Gioia
Dana Gioia
-Poetry:It was as a poet that Gioia first began to attract widespread attention in the early 1980s, with frequent appearances in The Hudson Review, Poetry, and The New Yorker. In the same period, he published a number of essays and book reviews...
has written, "The current literary reputation of Weldon Kees is both paradoxical and exemplary. It presents a paradox in that his work is held in high esteem by poets, especially younger ones, while it remains virtually unknown to academic critics."
According to Poetry.org, "[the poet] Donald Justice
Donald Justice
Donald Justice was an American poet and teacher of writing. In summing up Justice's career, David Orr has written, "In most ways, Justice was no different from any number of solid, quiet older writers devoted to traditional short poems. But he was different in one important sense: sometimes his...
called Kees 'among the three or four best of his generation.' Justice went on to note that 'Kees is original in one of the few ways that matter: he speaks to us in a voice or, rather, in a particular tone of voice which we have never heard before.'"