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Biography:
A native of Vienna, Austria, Pollock was a prominent poet and essayist, and curator of the Rare Book Room and Little Magazine Collection at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Memorial Library.
Felix Pollak (November 11, 1909–November 19, 1987) was an American poet and librarian. Pollak was born in Vienna, Austria in 1909 to Geza Pollak and Helene Schneider Pollak. A Jew and liberal anti-fascist, he studied law and theater at the University of Vienna, but emigrated to the United States after the occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany. He worked as a door-to-door salesman in New York City before attending the University of Buffalo, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in library sciences in 1941.
While working as a librarian, Pollak was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943, where he worked as a translator for German prisoners of war. After the war, he attended the University of Michigan, where he received a master's degree in library science in 1949. Pollak also received a Dr.Jur. from the University of Vienna in 1953.
From 1949 to 1959, Pollak worked as a rare books librarian at Northwestern University. He became a rare books librarian at the University of Wisconsin in 1959, where he remained until 1974. One of his primary duties was developing the Sukov collection of literary magazines (now called the Little Magazine collection, which remains to date one of the world's finest collections for small literary magazines and the publications of independent poetry presses. After his retirement, Pollak remained in Madison, Wisconsin until his death in 1987.
In addition to his work as a librarian, Pollak was also an accomplished poet. He published seven volumes of poetry and his poems appeared in a range of prominent publications, including The American Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, TriQuarterly, The Madison Review, and the Wisconsin Academy Review. His most famous poem: "Speaking: The Hero" has frequently been cited as a forceful example of Vietnam war protest poetry, though it was written in response to the Nazi concentration camps and the bombing of Hiroshima.
Since 1994, the University of Wisconsin Press has annually awarded a poetry prize named after Pollak.The Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry was founded in 1994. It is awarded annually to the best book-length manuscript of original poetry submitted in an open competition. The award is administered by the University of Wisconsin–Madison English department, and the winner is chosen by a nationally recognized poet. The resulting book is published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/FelixPollak.html
Works by Felix Pollak:
A native of Vienna, Austria, Pollock was a prominent poet and essayist, and curator of the Rare Book Room and Little Magazine Collection at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Memorial Library.
Felix Pollak (November 11, 1909–November 19, 1987) was an American poet and librarian. Pollak was born in Vienna, Austria in 1909 to Geza Pollak and Helene Schneider Pollak. A Jew and liberal anti-fascist, he studied law and theater at the University of Vienna, but emigrated to the United States after the occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany. He worked as a door-to-door salesman in New York City before attending the University of Buffalo, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in library sciences in 1941.
While working as a librarian, Pollak was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943, where he worked as a translator for German prisoners of war. After the war, he attended the University of Michigan, where he received a master's degree in library science in 1949. Pollak also received a Dr.Jur. from the University of Vienna in 1953.
From 1949 to 1959, Pollak worked as a rare books librarian at Northwestern University. He became a rare books librarian at the University of Wisconsin in 1959, where he remained until 1974. One of his primary duties was developing the Sukov collection of literary magazines (now called the Little Magazine collection, which remains to date one of the world's finest collections for small literary magazines and the publications of independent poetry presses. After his retirement, Pollak remained in Madison, Wisconsin until his death in 1987.
In addition to his work as a librarian, Pollak was also an accomplished poet. He published seven volumes of poetry and his poems appeared in a range of prominent publications, including The American Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, TriQuarterly, The Madison Review, and the Wisconsin Academy Review. His most famous poem: "Speaking: The Hero" has frequently been cited as a forceful example of Vietnam war protest poetry, though it was written in response to the Nazi concentration camps and the bombing of Hiroshima.
Since 1994, the University of Wisconsin Press has annually awarded a poetry prize named after Pollak.The Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry was founded in 1994. It is awarded annually to the best book-length manuscript of original poetry submitted in an open competition. The award is administered by the University of Wisconsin–Madison English department, and the winner is chosen by a nationally recognized poet. The resulting book is published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/FelixPollak.html
Works by Felix Pollak:
- Felix Pollak, The Castle and the Flaw. New Rochelle, New York: Elizabeth Press, 1963.
- Felix Pollak, Say When. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Juniper Press, 1969.
- Felix Pollak, Ginkgo. New Rochelle, New York: Elizabeth Press, 1973.
- Felix Pollak, Subject to Change. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Juniper Press, 1978.
- Felix Pollak, Prose and Cons. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Juniper Press, 1983.
- Felix Pollak, Tunnel Visions. Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press, 1984.
- Felix Pollak, Benefits of Doubt. Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press, 1988.
- Felix Pollak, Vom Nutzen des Zweifels. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1989.
- Felix Pollak, Lebenszeichen. Aphorismen und Marginalien. Vienna: Verlag für Gesellschaftskritik, 1992.
