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Eve Merriam

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Eve Merriam
BornEva Moskovitz
(1916-07-19)July 19, 1916
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedApril 11, 1992(1992-04-11) (aged 75)
Manhattan, New York, United States
OccupationPoet
Alma materCornell University
Notable awards
Spouse
Erwin Spitzer
(m. 1939; div. 1947)

Martin Michel
(m. 1947; div. 1960)

(m. 1963; div. 1980)

(m. 1983; died 1987)
Children2 (with Michel)
RelativesJennifer Salt (stepdaughter)

Eve Merriam (July 19, 1916 – April 11, 1992) was an American poet and writer.

Writing career

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Merriam's first book was the 1946 Family Circle, which won the Yale Younger Poets Prize.[1] In 1956, she published Emma Lazarus: Woman with a Torch.[2] Her book, The Inner City Mother Goose (1969), was described as one of the most banned books of the time.[3] It inspired a 1971 Broadway musical called Inner City, later revived in 1982 under the title Street Dreams.[3][4][5]

In 1981, she won the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.[3] One of her books for children is Halloween ABC. She published over 30 books,[6] and taught at both City College and New York University.[7]

In 1977, composer Patsy Rogers used Merriam’s text for her opera Woman Alive: Conversation Against Death.[8] The play Out of Our Father's House, adapted by Merriam, Jack Hofsiss and Paula Wagner from Merriam's book Growing Up Female in America, with music by Ruth Crawford Seeger, was televised on the Great Performances series in 1978.[9][10]

Personal life

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Born Eva Moskovitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eve Merriam was one of four children of Russian Jewish immigrants Max Moscovitz and Jennie Siegel.[6][11][12] After graduating with an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937,[6][13] Merriam moved to New York to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University. She was married four times, with the first three ending in divorce: Erwin Spitzer (1939-1947), Martin Michel (1947-1960),and Leonard C. Lewin (1963-1980). She married screenwriter Waldo Salt in 1983 and remained with him until his death in 1987, and in the process became Jennifer Salt's stepmother.

Death

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Merriam died on April 11, 1992, in Manhattan from [[liver cancer]; she was 75.

References

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Core biographical material

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In other works

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  • Randy Shilts. The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life & Times of Harvey Milk (New York: St. Martins, 1982).
  • Kate Weigand. Red Feminism: American Communism and the Making of Women's Liberation (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001).

Archival materials

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Notes

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  1. ^ Biography of Eve Merriam at the Poetry Foundation, poetryfoundation.org. Accessed November 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Merriam, Eve (1956). Emma Lazarus: Woman with a Torch. New York: Citadel Press. LCCN 56-10276.
  3. ^ a b c Biography of Eve Merriam at the Academy of American Poets, poets.org. Accessed November 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Michel, Dee (March 15, 2011). "My Memories of Inner City". Masterworks Broadway. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Eve Merriam". Masterworks Broadway. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Author Eve Merriam dead at 75". UPI Archives. April 12, 1992. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  7. ^ Lambert, Bruce (April 13, 1992). "Eve Merriam, 75, Poet and Author Who Wrote for Children, Is Dead". New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Books & Music (USA). p. 596. ISBN 978-0-9617485-0-0.
  9. ^ Gardella, Kay (August 2, 1978). "Television: Documentaries on Trial". New York Daily News. p. 103. ProQuest 2313368748. Recommended tonight: 'Out of Our Father's House,' an unusual and timely production for 'Great Performances,' 9 to 10 p.m., based on Eve Merriam's book, 'Growing Up Female in America.'
  10. ^ Wagner, Paula; Hofsiss, Jack'; Merriam, Eve (1975). Out of Our Father's House. New York: Samuel French. ISBN 0-573-63326-6.
  11. ^ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K9K-4P3N : 10 February 2023), Eva Moskovitz, .
  12. ^ "United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF1C-Z9C : Fri Oct 06 21:31:58 UTC 2023), Entry for Max Moskovitz and Jennie Moskovitz, 1920.
  13. ^ Eve Merriam, 75, Poet and Author Who Wrote for Children, Is Dead https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/13/nyregion/eve-merriam-75-poet-and-author-who-wrote-for-children-is-dead.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
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