Constance Carrier
Constance Carrier | |
|---|---|
Constance Carrier, from the 1929 yearbook of Smith College | |
| Born | Constance Virginia Carrier July 29, 1908 New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1991 (aged 83) New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Teacher, poet, translator |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Smith College Trinity College |
| Genre | poetry |
Constance Virginia Carrier (July 29, 1908 – December 7, 1991) was an American teacher, translator, and poet, based in Connecticut.
Early life and education
Carrier was born in New Britain, Connecticut, the daughter of Lucius Alonso Carrier and Lillian M. Jost Carrier.[1][2] Her father was on the staff at Trinity College in Hartford.[3] She was descended from Martha Carrier, one of the women hanged during the notorious Salem witch trials of 1692. The witch trials were the subject of Carrier's last volume of poetry.[4] She graduated from Smith College in 1929.[5] As a student at Smith, she was inspired to become a poet by reading Louise Bogan and Emily Dickinson.[6] She earned a master's degree at Trinity College in 1940.[4][7]
Career
Carrier taught at New Britain High School, and then five years at Hall High School in West Hartford, before retiring in 1969. She taught several subjects, but is most remembered for teaching Latin.[4] She also taught in summer programs at Wesleyan University and Tufts University,[1] and held residencies at Yaddo[6] and the MacDowell Colony.[8]
Carrier's poetry was published in the New Yorker,[9] New York Quarterly, Ploughshares,[10] Poetry, and Harper's. The Middle Voice won the 1954 Lamont Prize, given by the Academy of American Poets.[4]
In the 1960s and 1970s, Carrier published translations of the works three classical Roman writers: the playwright Terence, and the poets Propertius and Tibullus.[4] In 1964 she spoke at the Classical Association of New England (CANE) meeting at Dartmouth College.[3]
Personal life and legacy
Carrier died in 1991, at the age of 83, in New Britain.[4][5] The anniversary of her 100th birthday was celebrated in New Britain.[11] Her papers are in the Mortimer Rare Book Collection of Smith College.[12]
Works
Poetry
- The Middle Voice. Denver: A. Swallow. 1954.
- The Angled Road. Chicago: Swallow Press. 1973. ISBN 0-8040-0655-5.[4]
- Witchcraft Poems: Salem, 1692. Roslyn, N.Y.: Stone House Press. 1988. ISBN 0-937035-11-4.
Translations
- Palmer Bovie, ed. (1974). The complete comedies of Terence; modern verse translations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-0775-8.
- Palmer Bovie, ed. (1992). Terence, the comedies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4354-5.
- Titus Maccius Plautus (1995). "Amphitryon". In David R. Slavitt; Smith Palmer Bovie (eds.). Plautus. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5071-4.
- Tibullus. The Poems of Tibullus. Constance Carrier.
- Propertius (1963). The poems of Propertius. Constance Carrier. Bloomington.
Anthologies
- Robert Hass; John Hollander; Carolyn Kizer; Marjorie Perloff; Nathaniel Mackey, eds. (April 2000). American Poetry: The Twentieth Century: e.e. cummings to May Swenson. Vol. II. Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-883011-78-9.
References
- ^ a b "Constance V. Carrier (death notice)". Hartford Courant. 1991-12-10. p. 116. Retrieved 2025-06-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Carrier Estate Valued at $18,000 Inventory Shows". Record-Journal. 1947-10-27. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-06-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Classical Assn. to Hear Translator, Teacher". Hartford Courant. 1964-03-17. p. 24. Retrieved 2025-06-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gordon, Laura. "Carrier, Constance Virginia". Database of Classical Scholars | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ a b "Constance V. Carrier, Retired teacher and poetry writer". The Boston Globe. 1991-12-10. p. 30. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ a b "Yaddo Exhibition: Constance Carrier". Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ "Constance V. Carrier; poet, retired teacher". Hartford Courant. 1991-12-11. p. 136. Retrieved 2025-06-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Constance Carrier - Artist". MacDowell. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ "Constance Carrier". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ "Constance Carrier". Ploughshares. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ Ken Byron (2008-11-21). "Constance Carrier, a Local Teacher and Noted Poet, Will be Honored on Saturday". The Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ Constance Carrier Papers, Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Smith College.
External links
- "Elegies 11.28" by Propertius (Translated by Constance Carrier), a 2025 episode of The Well Read Poem, hosted by Thomas Banks; on YouTube