Hard Contemporary American Poets and Their Verse Quiz / Test | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis in 1928, this author and poet, among other professions, is most famous for her deliverance of her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration.

Answer: Maya Angelou

While born in the same era as Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath committed suicide in 1963.

Emily Dickinson lived between 1830-1886.

Amy Lowell lived from 1874-1925.

2. This contemporary American poet was actually born in Yugoslavia in 1938. After coming to the United States at the age of 15, his first poems were published just six years later at the age of 21. While famous for such works as 'What the Grass Says', 'Walking the Black Cat', and 'Wedding in Hell', his 'The World Doesn't End: Prose Poems' won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990.

Answer: Charles Simic

Pablo Neruda lived from 1904 - 1973 and was born in Chile and has never won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Jack Prelutsky was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930 and has never won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Robert Hayden was born in Detroit and has never won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

3. What poet, essayist, conservationist, novelist and teacher asked and answered this question in his 1999 essay 'The Failure of War'? "How many deaths of other people's children are we willing to accept in order that we may be free, affluent and (supposedly) at peace? To that question I answer: None . . . Don't kill any children for my benefit."

Answer: Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry is a farmer and a poet, teacher and critic. His love for the earth is well known and thematic in his works. His interests were in agriculture and local communities and anything that threatened that way of life. These threats included industrialization, global economics, and environmental destruction. He was an outspoken opponent of war throughout his life.

4. This recently deceased poet (2004) won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1980 with his 'Selected Poems'. He is known for poetry on loss and desolation of life. He also taught English at writing at several universities before finishing his career in his native Florida at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Answer: Donald Justice

Ted Hughes is a contemporary British poet.

Philip Levine, who also won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, was born and raised in Detroit. He worked in a series of industrial jobs and is known for his poetry about common blue-collared people.

James Merrill's only Pulitzer was the Pulitzer Prize for 'Divine Comedies' in 1976.

5. Which of these contemporary American poets DID NOT attend the famous Iowa Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa?

Answer: Robert Penn Warren

Robert Penn Warren was a visiting writer to the Iowa Writer's Workshop, but never a student.

Donald Justice attended from 1952-1954, receiving his PhD in 1954.

Robert Bly attended from 1954-1956.

James Tate attended from 1965-1967 receiving his MFA in 1967.

6. Who was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 1993-1995?

Answer: Rita Dove

Rita Dove was not only the first African American poet to ever hold this position, but also the youngest person ever.

Jorie Graham, a long time faculty member at the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop, has never held the position of U.S. Poet Laureate.

Louise Gluck held the position of U.S. Poet Laureate from 2003-2004.

Mona Van Duyn held the position of U.S. Poet Laureate from 1992-1993.

7. This poet and novelist is the only person to ever win Pulitzers in both poetry and fiction.

Answer: Robert Penn Warren

Robert Penn Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1947 with 'All the King's Men'. He also won Pulitzer Prizes in Poetry in 1958 for 'Promises: Poems 1954-1956', and in 1979 for 'Now and Then'.

Robert Hass won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2008, but has never won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel.

Robert Hayden has never won the Pulitzer Prize.

Robert Lowell never won the Pulitzer Prize.

8. Who was the first recipient of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 1986, a prize honoring a living U.S. poet whose "lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition."?

Answer: Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich appropriately received this award in 1986 as she has been called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century" by the editor of the 'Anthology of Modern American Poetry'.

Fanny Howe is the 2009 recipient of the award.

Charles Wright is the 1993 recipient of the award.

Maya Angelou has never received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.

9. Which of the following poets is NOT considered a part of the Beat Generation?

Answer: T.S. Eliot

T.S. Eliot lived from 1888-1965) and was a poet, playwright, and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. His most famous writings include 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and 'The Waste Land'.

10. Which of the following young contemporary American poets did not receive a degree from the University of Virginia?

Answer: Natasha Trethewey

Natasha Trethewey earned her Bachelor's degree at the University of Georgia in English and creative writing. She earned her Master's degree in English and creative writing at Hollins University. Later, she received her M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Massachusetts.

Davis McCombs studied at Harvard, University of Virginia, and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford.

James Kimbrell graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with an M.A., from University of Virginia with an MFA, and from University of Missouri Columbia with a Ph.D.

Judy Jordan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1990 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1995. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction from the University of Utah.

Source: Author iloveyanira

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Contemporary American Poets and Their Verse Quiz

How well do you know contemporary American poetry?

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>