George Oppen was an American poet, best known as one of the members of the Objectivist group of poets.
17 Facts About George Oppen
2.
George Oppen abandoned poetry in the 1930s for political activism and moved to Mexico in 1950 to avoid the attentions of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
3.
George Oppen's father changed the family name to Oppen in 1927.
4.
George Oppen's childhood was one of considerable affluence; the family was well-tended to by servants and maids and George Oppen enjoyed all the benefits of a wealthy upbringing: horse riding, expensive automobiles, frequent trips to Europe.
5.
George Oppen developed a skill for sailing at a young age and the seascapes around his childhood home left a mark on his later poetry.
6.
George Oppen was taught carpentry by the family butler; Oppen, as an adult, found work as a carpenter and cabinetmaker.
7.
In 1917, the family moved to San Francisco where George Oppen attended Warren Military Academy.
8.
Ultimately, George Oppen was expelled from high school just before he graduated.
9.
In 1929, George Oppen came into a small inheritance and relative financial independence.
10.
George Oppen had begun working on poems for what was to be his first book, Discrete Series, a seminal work in early Objectivist history.
11.
Unable to bring himself to write verse propaganda, George Oppen abandoned poetry and joined the Communist Party USA, serving as election campaign manager for Brooklyn in 1936, and helping organize the Utica New York Milk Strike.
12.
Disillusioned by the CPUSA and willing to assist in the fight against fascism, George Oppen quit his job, making himself eligible for the draft.
13.
Effectively volunteering for duty, George Oppen saw active service on the Maginot Line and the Ardennes; he was seriously wounded near Bad Urach Germany.
14.
Shortly after George Oppen was wounded, George Oppen's division helped liberate the concentration camp at Landsberg am Lech.
15.
George Oppen was awarded the Purple Heart and returned to New York in 1946.
16.
Back in Brooklyn, George Oppen renewed old ties with Louis Zukofksy and Charles Reznikoff and befriended many younger poets.
17.
George Oppen published two more collections of poetry during the 1960s, This In Which and Of Being Numerous, the latter earning him the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1969.