Diane Middlebrook
Diane Helen Wood Middlebrook (born April 16, 1939 in Pocatello , † December 15, 2007 in San Francisco ) was an American author and biographer .
Life
Middlebrook grew up in Idaho . She graduated from the University of Washington and Yale University . There she did her PhD on Walt Whitman and Wallace Stevens . From 1966 she taught as an assistant professor at Stanford University .
In the 1980s Middlebrook published several books on poetry and poetry . Her breakthrough came in 1991 with the publication of her biography about Anne Sexton . The book became a bestseller and was a finalist for the National Book Awards . With a biography of the jazz musician Billy Tipton , she proved that she could also write on topics outside of English . In 2003 her third biography appeared, in which Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes were the subject.
In 2004 Middlebrook ended her academic career at Stanford University because she wanted to devote herself exclusively to writing. She was working on a book about Ovid when she died of cancer in December 2007 .
She was married to the chemist, art collector and writer Carl Djerassi .
Works
- You wanted your stars: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Biography. Edition Fünf, Graefelfing, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-942374-32-3 .
Web links
- Official website of Middlebrooks
- Literature by and about Diane Middlebrook in the catalog of the German National Library
- Article about Middlebrook in Stanford Magazine
Individual evidence
- ^ Diane Wood Middlebrook, Biographer, Dies at 68. Obituary. In: The New York Times. December 17, 2007.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Middlebrook, Diane |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Middlebrook, Diane Wood |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American author and biographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 16, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pocatello |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 15, 2007 |
| Place of death | San Francisco |