Alan Ansen

Alan Ansen (23 January 1922 – 12 November 2006) was an American poet, playwright, and member of Beat Generation writers. [ [http://www.emptymirrorbooks.com/beat/ansen.html Alan Ansen - Information, bio, obituary, bibliography & books ] ] [ [http://www.centerforbookculture.org/dalkey/backlist/ansen.html Dalkey Archive Press: Alan Ansen ] ] He was a widely-read scholar who knew many languages. Ansen grew up on Long Island and was educated at Harvard. He worked as W. H. Auden's secretary and research assistant in 1948-49; he was the main author of the chronological tables in Auden's "The Portable Greek Reader" and "Poets of the English Language".

He became a close friend of various Beat writers, and was the model for flamboyant characters in their fiction, including Rollo Greb in Jack Kerouac's "On the Road", AJ in William Burroughs' "Naked Lunch", and Dad Deform in Gregory Corso's "American Express".

Ansen lived mostly in Athens after the early 1960s, where he was part of a circle of writers that included James Merrill and Chester Kallman.

His works

* "The Old Religion" (poems, 1959; 300 copies).
* "Disorderly Houses: A Book of Poems" (1961; Wesleyan Poetry Series)
* "William Burroughs: An Essay" (1986)
* "The Vigilantes: A Fragment" (1987; from an unpublished novel)
* "Contact Highs: Selected Poems" (1989)
* "The Table Talk of W.H. Auden" (1989; ed. by Nicholas Jenkins; excerpts from conversation diaries).

References

External links

* [http://www.emptymirrorbooks.com/beat/beats.html Beat Generation Biographies]
* [http://www.questia.com/library/book/disorderly-houses-a-book-of-poems-by-alan-ansen.jsp "Disorderly Houses" by Alan Hansen]