Born in Detroit, Philip Levine taught American poetry to listen to labor. His plainspoken English carried factories, fatigue, and moral clarity into verse, proving working-class speech could bear philosophy, anger, and dignity. Poetry learned to speak without ornament, for lives previously unheard, and the language never narrowed again afterward ever.
Philip Levine (1928–2015) – The Poet Who Gave Working-Class English Its Permanent Voice
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