Poet, WW2 Vet, Edward Field
Name: Edward Field
Birth Place: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation/ Passion:
A prolific and renowned writer, Field has written ten books of poetry, multiplememoirs, a travel book, and the narration for an Academy Award winning documentary, To Be Alive (1965). He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lamont Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Prix de Rome from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, and the Lambda Literary Award.
Wow , you celebrated your 94th Birthday!! Congratulations!!
it’s coming up on June 7… hope to make it.
I also want to thank your for your service and congrats on your recent induction!
Thank you
You were a Air force 1st Lieutenant.
To our readers: Air Force 1st Lieutenant Edward Field served in World War II as a navigator in heavy bombers, and flew 27
missions on a B-17 in 1945. Lt. Field narrowly escaped death when, on his third mission over
Berlin, severe engine damage forced him to crash-land his bomber in the North Sea.
Can you tell us about your poetry and how you got started?
I was in the army during World War II, and in 1943, getting on a troop train to cross the country to my next posting, a red cross lady was handing out care packages to all of us with toothbrush, chocolate bar, and paperback book. – my book turned out to be an anthology of poetry which I read for the three days we were on the train, and when I got off that train I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up (i’d been asked about that all my life) – a poet. Also, I knew it was something that nobody else I knew would ever want to be – so it was for me.
I am the 2nd to the right, Lower
After the war and a period of recovery, I went to Paris to become a poet. Later, I
moved back to New York City where I lived with my partner, Neil Derrick, for 58 years until
Derrick’s recent passing.
Are there any definitive moments in the gay community that brought real change personally to your own life?
Of course, I lived in the closet for half my life, but it never stopped me from having an active sex life, even in the army, so Gay Liberation didn’t change much for me, and I was already living with my wonderful partner Neil.
Neil at San Marco Plaza
But for him, who had not had lots of sex before we got together, the explosion of open sexuality around us in the Village where we lived made him long to escape the confines of our relationship, and I let him go. Unfortunately, in the two years we were apart he developed a brain tumor and lost most of his sight, so I started looking after him, and we spent the rest of his life together. He died earlier this year, after 58 years together.
On a personal level, it can be difficult to lose loved ones throughout your life. How do you handle that?
The emptiness at home is almost too much to bear, but I am lucky to have a public life where I get a lot of attention. In the last six months i’ve been the focus of 5 major events. But of course when I go home I face The Emptiness. But evenings, when I do my exercises, partly yoga, I am perfectly content to be by myself. Having a toke first helps.
What are the most pressing issues , in your opinion, that face our community today?
For myself, the major issues are won, but I am very old and young people are the ones facing these issues and defining them.
Who has been your biggest influence in poetry and in writing?
The poet who taught me how to write, Robert Friend. And the magical openly-gay Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, who showed me how to use my own voice in poetry, an intimate voice where you communicate to people when you write. Everybody understands my poems – they taught me that.
Words that best describe you?
Ancient
Maybe in the gay world, but we are trying to change that -1 gay spotlight at a time.
When did you become out to friends and family?
I never came out to my parents, though they stopped asking me when I was going to get married when I was about 38. i’ve always been open about being gay with my 5 brothers and sisters, and they all knew Neil and liked him, even my homophobic brother in law. I never made any bones about being gay with friends. In New York you never needed to hide it, especially in Greenwich Village.
Who has been your biggest influence in your life?
My wonderful partner, Neil – totally different from me, so I learned a lot living with him.
I would give anything to meet…
I guess there’s no more room in my life for anyone.
Your idea of a perfect evening is?
Having a toke, and spending the evening with music from YouTube – currently Hildegarde Knef, Josef Schmidt, and Reinhard Mey — doing my yoga, including my favorite asana, jacking off. I also write notes for poems in my journal – I put down the words and phrases that come to me. And I always end in the glorious Full Lotus position. Perfect!
The last book I read was ….
Susan Sontag, the Making of an Icon, by Carl Rollyson and Lisa Paddock. I knew her well on her way up, through Alfred Chester who was her mentor for awhile. I named my memoir The Man Who Would Marry Susan Sontag – that man was Alfred. His career was on the skids and hers was ascendant, so he figured it was a good career move to marry her. Of course, she didn’t need him anymore.
My favorite movies/plays are?
Living with a blind man most of my life, we didn’t do many movies, or TV, or anything visual, so my favorite movies are all of the past – Laura, anything with Bette Davis, Montgomery Clift, Streetcar Named Desire, Ship of Fools. I was a snob about musicals, but when I saw Carousel I was converted. Of course, Candide. You don’t ask about music and opera – I adore Der Rosenkavelier by Richard Strauss, and his songs, and other operas like Andrea Chenier. I’m happy to have lived while Leontyne Price and Placido Domingo and Kiri ti Kanawa were at their height. And you can hear it all on YouTube.
Nobody knows that I ……
I’m addicted to mormon porn.
Well, they do now lol
What’s your favorite place in the entire world?
Berlin – I love speaking German and still study it daily, and German food.
And life in that wonderful city – Neil and I rented apartments there
quite a few times. The irony is that I bombed it five times, and my plane was even shot down over Berlin.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
When Neil and I broke up in 1970 I went to Afghanistan, overland on the hippie trail. What an experience! In Afghanistan there’s no categories for men like gay or straight – it’s all what men do, plus sheep.
What odd talent do you have?
I’m handy – my father was brutal, but he did make me work with him around the house, so I learned to use tools and fix things.
What had been your biggest setback or failure in life and how did you overcome it?
When Neil lost his sight during our breakup, I saw he couldn’t live by himself anymore, so I had him move back in with me – i’d found an apartment for myself in Westbeth – and our relationship resumed on an entirely different basis. I became his eyes, and guided him everywhere, his hand on my shoulder. We traveled abroad a lot, so I led him through the medinas of North African countries and all over Europe. It was a tremendous adaptation for both of us, but turned out to be fantastic.
If I could meet my younger self, I would tell him…
Don’t despair. The world is not Lynbrook, L.I., where they despise you for being a Jew. Just wait – you are going to join the army where you will be accepted, even liked, and have thrilling adventures. And then go on to a terrific poetry career. Your life is going to turn out to be glorious!
What are the biggest challenges you have as a gay man after 40+? ……
For me, it’s after 90+. i’m generally in good health, but my legs aren’t working well. With age you lose strength, for some reason – even though I do my exercises daily. And I have trouble – and a lot of pain – if I walk more than a few blocks. Otherwise, I have an easy life.
What would you like to say to the Gay Life after 40 tribe?
Never forget your dick. Sexual pleasure puts a glow over everything. The world doesn’t want old men to be sexual, and finds it disgusting. That is a major challenge.
Where can our readers find you or know more about you ?
Google my name and except for a few other Edward Fields – the organic wine dealer, the rug merchant – there’s a lot about me. Also, my website www.edwardfield.com, but I don’t keep it up to date. On the Westbeth.org website is a video made when I was appointed a Westbeth Icon https://vimeo.com/257281716, and also an interview. A number of videos of me reading my poems are posted on YouTube. Also, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Field_(poet)
