Alvarez, Alfred

(1929- )

   Born in London, he suffered the loss of both his parents through suicide when he was a child. He studied English at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, graduated B.A. (1952) and M.A. (1956) and was made an honorary fellow in 2001. He studied at Princeton University, New Jersey, from 1953 to 1954 on a Proctor Visiting Fellowship, and was Visiting Fellow of Rockefeller Foundation, New York (19551956). He returned to Princeton as lecturer in creative writing from 1957 to 1958. He has also lectured in New Mexico. He turned to creative writing in 1966 and is possibly best known for The Savage God: A Study of Suicide (1971). Where Did It All Go Right? (1999) is his autobiography. East London University awarded him an honorary doctor of literature in 1998. Jared Harris played Alvarez in the 2003 film Sylvia, about the troubled relationship between Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes (see entries). Some of his poetry publications: The New Poetry, 1962. Lost, 1968. Apparition, 1971. Autumn to Autumn, and Selected Poems, 1953-1976, 1978. Some of his poems: "Cemetery in New Mexico," "Dying," "Lost," "Operation," "The Fortunate Fall."

   Sources: Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. The New Modern Poetry: British and American Poetry since World War II. M.L. Rosenthal, ed. Macmillan, 1967. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. Voices within the Ark: The Modern Jewish Poets. Howard Schwartz, and Anthony Rudolf, ed. Avon Books, 1980. Who's Who. London: A & C Black, 2005