Jerome Rothenberg (Jerome Dennis Rothenberg) Biography

American poet, born in New York City, educated at the City College of New York and at the University of Michigan. He held various various visiting academic posts throughout the USA before becoming a professor at the University of California, San Diego, in 1988. White Sun, Black Sun (1960), his first publication as a poet, displayed an allegiance to Imagism in the concentrated forms of its meditative lyrics. The compass of his work has subsequently expanded to reflect his interests in Japanese literature, North American Indian culture, Dada, and his familial connections with the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. His many collections of verse, which display his commitment to continuous experimentation, include The Seven Hells of the Jigoku Zoshi (1962), A Seneca Journal (1978), Vienna Blood (1980), That Dada Strain (1983), Poland/1931 (1974), New Selected Poems, 1970–1985 (1986), and Gematria (1993); Khurbn (1989) constitutes his fullest confrontation with the tragic modern history of the Jewish people. He is the editor of the anthologies Technicians of the Sacred (1985) and Shaking the Pumpkin (1986), which contain a range of ethnic poetries from Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania.