Edward Field, an influential American poet, novelist, and memoirist whose conversational and witty verse chronicled mid-century bohemian life in New York City, has died at the age of 102, according to nytimes.com.
Field passed away on September 6, 2026, in New York City.
Born in Brooklyn on June 7, 1924, he grew up on Long Island before serving as a heavy bomber navigator with the Eighth Air Force during World War II, flying 25 missions over Europe. He began writing poetry during the conflict after a Red Cross worker handed him an anthology.
His literary career gained widespread recognition with his 1963 debut collection, Stand Up, Friend, With Me, which won the Lamont Poetry Prize. Over subsequent decades, Field published numerous collections; including Variety Photoplays and After the Fall: Poems Old and New, and established a reputation for accessible, direct storytelling.
Alongside his poetry, he co-authored several novels with his long-time partner Neil Derrick under the pseudonym Bruce Elliot, and wrote the narration for To Be Alive!, a documentary film that won an Academy Award in 1965.
A central figure in Manhattan’s post-war literary and artistic circles, Field received numerous accolades over his lifetime, including a Lambda Literary Award and the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement, leaving an enduring mark on American poetry and queer literature.
•Featured image: Edward Field in 2014/Roger Netzer