Elisa New
Elisa New (born 1958) is Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature at Harvard University. She holds a BA from Brandeis University (1980), as well as a MA and a PhD from Columbia University (1982 and 1988, respectively). Her interests include American poetry, American literature, religion in literature, and Jewish literature. Before moving to Harvard, she taught at the University of Pennsylvania. New is the creator and host of the television show "Poetry in America". Early life. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Maryland. Family. She had three daughters (Yael, Orli, and Maya) with her  first husband, Fred David Levine, who died in 2013. Before moving to Boston, Massachusetts, the family had resided in Miami, Florida. Mr. Levine was a member of the professional staff of the Anti-Defamation League, serving in both the National and Florida Regional Offices. On December 11, 2005, she married economist Lawrence Summers.