Joel Oppenheimer
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Joel Lester Oppenheimer (Jacob Hammer) (February 18, 1930 – October 11, 1988) was an American poet associated with both the Black Mountain poets and the New York School. Though a poet, Oppenheimer was perhaps better known for his columns in the Village Voice from 1969 to 1984.
[edit] Life and Work
Oppenheimer was born in Yonkers, New York, attended Cornell University for one year in 1948, spent less than one semester at the University of Chicago, and in 1950 enrolled at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. At Black Mountain, he studied with Paul Goodman and poet Charles Olson, became friends with Fielding Dawson and Ed Dorn, and worked in the school's print shop.
In his earliest poetry, Oppenheimer shows clearly the influence of William Carlos Williams, but he soon developed his own style. While at Black Mountain, Oppenheimer met and married his first wife, Rena Furlong. He left the school in January of 1953 without taking a degree, eventually settling in New York and working in a print shop while continuing to write poetry.
Drawing from Life, posthumously published in 1997, gathered 92 columns written for the Village Voice. Library Journal wrote that Drawing from Life "emphasizes several favorite themes: baseball, politics, and the role of the changing seasons in our lives".
