The Poetry Porch 1: Poets

In memory of Julia Budenz (May 23, 1934 - December 11, 2010)


Budenz at Bellagio, Italy, April 1996
 

About Julia Budenz and her poetry —

Born in New York City in 1934, Julia Budenz was the oldest of four children (all daughters) of Louis and Margaret Budenz. When Julia was 11, her father abruptly renounced his clandestine work for the Communist Party and joined the Roman Catholic Church with his family. Julia attended the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York, where she earned the Latin Cup and Caesar medal. She then attended the College of New Rochelle, graduating summa cum laude in 1956. In the fall of that year she entered the Ursuline novitiate to become a nun. She attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C., earning an M.A. in 1962. Then she taught Latin, Greek, and classics in translation (especially Homer) at the College of New Rochelle. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen presided over her profession of final vows as an Ursuline nun in 1964.

Soon, however, Julia decided the religious life was not for her. After a semester at New York University, in 1966 she began six years of graduate studies (Greek, Latin, and English) at Harvard University.

Julia began writing what would be her life work, a poem in five books titled The Gardens of Flora Baum, in 1969. From that time on she never strayed for long from Cambridge, Massachusetts, treasuring her ready access to Harvard’s renowned Widener and Houghton libraries.

— Roger Sinnott

You may order The Gardens of Flora Baum through Carpathia Press . Other biographical information, photographs, and tributes are also available through this site.

To read Budenz’s vita complete

To read poetry on The Poetry Porch by Julia Budenz:

An essay by Budenz, Query Re One’s Work

Poetry and prose to or about Budenz on The Poetry Porch:

See the Timeline Essay by Joyce Wilson at Mezzo Cammin: On Julia Budenz, The Form of the Long Poem: To Find the Self She Recognized



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