2: Poet PHILLIP LEVINE. He's considered one of this country's pre-eminent poets, but before he turned to poetry he worked for years at factory jobs. The images of those early days continue to influence his writings. Levine's collection of poems "What Work Is." won 1992's National Book Award. His memoir is "Bread of Time" (Knopf). Most recently he wrote, "The Simple Truth" (Knopf), which won him a Pulitzer Prize for poetry. It comes out in paperback in September. (Rebroadcast, originally aired 7/22/91). Fresh Air classical music critic LLOYD SCHWARTZ reads a new poem about his mother.
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