  howard nemerov (february 29, 1920 â july 5, 1991) was an american poet. he was twice poet laureate consultant in poetry to the library of congress, from 1963 to 1964 and again from 1988 to 1990. for the collected poems of howard nemerov (1977), he won the national book award for poetry, "national book awards â 1978". national book foundation. retrieved 2012-04-07. (with acceptance speech by nemerov and essay by ross gay from the awards 60-year anniversary blog.) pulitzer prize for poetry, "poetry". past winners & finalists by category. the pulitzer prizes. retrieved 2012-04-07. and bollingen prize. nemerov was brother to photographer diane nemerov arbus and father to art historian alexander nemerov, professor of the history of art and american studies at stanford university. ==biography== born on leap day in new york city, his parents were david nemerov and gertrude. the nemerovs were a russian jewish couple who lived in new york city and owned russek's, a famous fifth avenue department store. his younger sister was the photographer diane arbus. the elder nemerov's talents and interests extended to art connoisseurship, painting, philanthropy, and photography &mdash; talents and interests undoubtedly influential upon his son. young howard was raised in a sophisticated new york city environment where he attended the society for ethical culture's fieldston school. graduated in 1937 as an outstanding student and second string team football fullback, he commenced studies at harvard university where, in 1940, he was bowdoin essayist and he received bachelor's degree at this university. throughout world war ii, he served as a pilot, first in the royal canadian air force and later the u. s. army air forces. he married in 1944, and after the war, having earned the rank of first lieutenant, returned to new york with his wife to complete his first book. nemerov then began teachin
1920_births 1991_deaths 20th-century_American_poets American_Poets_Laureate Bollingen_Prize_recipients Cancer_deaths_in_Missouri Ethical_Culture_Fieldston_School_alumni Formalist_poets Guggenheim_Fellows Harvard_University_alumni Jewish_American_poets National_Book_Award_winners People_from_New_York_City People_from_St._Louis_County,_Missouri Poets_from_Missouri Pulitzer_Prize_for_Poetry_winners United_States_National_Medal_of_Arts_recipients Washington_University_in_St._Louis_faculty