Alexandra Grilikhes

Alexandra Grilikhes
BornDecember 1, 1932
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 8, 2003 (age 70)
Roxborough, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other nameSandra Grilikhes
OccupationsWriter, poet, novelist
RelativesLaraine Day (sister-in-law)

Alexandra Barbara Grilikhes (December 1, 1932 – February 8, 2003) was an American writer, librarian, critic, novelist, and poet. based in Philadelphia.[1]

Early life and education

Grilikhes was born in New York City, the daughter of Anatol Israel Grilikhes and Blanche Krainin Grilikhes. Her parents were both born in Russia; her father was an engraver and artist and her mother was a bookkeeper, violinist and poet.[2][3] She graduated from Queens College, then earned a master's degree in library science at Columbia University.[4]

Career

Grilikhes taught poetry at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and was a librarian at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.[4][5] In the 1970s and 1980s, she produced the International Festival of Films by Women,[6][7] hosted public radio programs,[4] and was poetry editor for the weekly Philadelphia City Paper.[8] She spoke at the American Dance Guild conference in 1989.[9] She was editor and publisher of the literary magazine American Writing, from 1990 to 2002.[10] Her 2001 novel Yin Fire was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. She also wrote spoken-word scores for dance performances, and gave readings with the Improvisational Poetry Group.[1]

Publications

Grilikhes's poetry often focused on women artists, mythologies, and female deities.[1][11][12] Her work was published in College Art Journal,[13] The American Scholar,[14][15] Feminist Studies,[16] Grand Street,[17] The Women's Review of Books,[18] and Bridges,[19] and collected in several books and anthologies.[1][20]

  • "Three poems: Melancholia, Bronze Aquamanile, The Twelvetones of Plainchant" (1960, poems)[13]
  • "Antonioni" (1971, poem)[14]
  • "On March 23, John Ashbery (Reading His Poems)" (1972, poem)[15]
  • Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho, and Other Poems (1972)[21]
  • Body/With Words: Poems for Dance (1976)[8]
  • Sea Agon (1976)[8]
  • City Poems (1977)[8]
  • "Watching the Dance" (1978, poem)[16]
  • On Women Artists: Poems, 1975-1980 (1981)[1][22]
  • "Key" and "The Answers" (1982, poems)[17]
  • "Something to Say" (1985, poem)[18]
  • The Blue Scar and other poems (1988)[21]
  • "Traveling", "Story", and "Close the Door" (1993, poems)[19]
  • Shaman Body (1996, book of poetry)[23][24]
  • "Mangled" (1998, poem)[25]
  • "Inanna in Winter" and "Roy's Mother" (1999, poems)[20]
  • Yin Fire (2001, novel)[26][27]

Personal life

Grilikhes died in 2003, at age 70, from breast cancer, in Roxborough, Pennsylvania.[4] She was survived by Elizabeth Weiss, her partner of twenty years.[5][28] Her brother Michel Grilikhes was a noted television and event producer, married to actress Laraine Day.[3][29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Veasey, Jack (1982-07-08). "For her, poetry and life are the same". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1D, 6D. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ 1930, 1940, 1950 United States censuses, via Ancestry.
  3. 1 2 "Producer Michel M. Grilikhes Passes". Television Academy. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Deaths: Alexandra Grilikhes, Librarian" (PDF). University of Pennsylvania Almanac: 2. February 18, 2003.
  5. 1 2 Pray, Rusty (2003-02-13). "Alexandra Grilikhes, Penn librarian". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. B11. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Festival of Films by Women Opens Friday in Philadelphia". LNP Lancaster Online. 1975-04-27. p. 62. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Women in film will highlight to final days of arts festival". The Evening News. 1981-01-22. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Grilikhes to read poetry". Centre Daily Times. 1985-11-22. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Rosen, Bernice (1989). "American Dance Guild Conference". Dance Research Journal. 21 (2): 51–52. doi:10.1017/S0149767700010779. ISSN 0149-7677.
  10. ↑ "High Profile: Alexandra Grilikhes: Magazine editing is 'like a work of art'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1991-01-20. p. 472. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Cameos : 12 small press women poets. Internet Archive. Trumansburg, N.Y. : Crossing Press. 1978. pp. 4, 122–124, 163. ISBN 978-0-89594-010-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ↑ Donchey, Marjorie (1978-09-16). "Images Stronger than Words". Press of Atlantic City. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Three Poems. Melancholia. Bronze Aquamanile. The Twelvetones of Plainchant" College Art Journal 19(4)(1960): 330-331.
  14. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Antonioni" The American Scholar (1971): 700.
  15. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "On March 23, John Ashbery (Reading His Poems)" The American Scholar (1972): 424.
  16. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Watching the Dance" Feminist Studies 4(1)(1978): 159-160.
  17. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Key" Grand Street 1(4)(1982): 138-139.
  18. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Something to Say" The Women's Review of Books 2(6)(1985): 12.
  19. 1 2 Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Traveling", "Close the Door", and "Story", Bridges 3(2)(1993): 53-55.
  20. 1 2 Helen Ohlson; Sally Rinard (1999). Terrains: A New Literary Anthology. Internet Archive. Cedar Tree Books, Ltd. pp. 41 ("Inanna in Winter"), 43 ("Roy's Mother"). ISBN 978-1-892142-07-8.
  21. 1 2 Cullen, Sandy (1989-04-13). "Poet deals with life's most primal emotions in works". The Evening News. p. 32. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Grilikhes, Alexandra (1981). On women artists : poems, 1975-1980. Internet Archive. Minneapolis, MN : Cleis Press. ISBN 978-0-939416-00-4.
  23. ↑ Pierce, Sue. "Blurring the Edges (review)" The Lesbian Review of Books 5(3)(April 30, 1999): 8.
  24. ↑ Cory, Jim (1998-12-06). "Appraising four poets, seeking what's real". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 86. Retrieved 2026-06-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Grilikhes, Alexandra. "Mangled" The Lesbian Review of Books 1 (1998): 3.
  26. ↑ Grilikhes, Alexandra (2001). Yin Fire. Internet Archive. Alice Street Editions. ISBN 978-1-56023-213-1.
  27. ↑ Kingsbury, Kathryn. "Yin? Yang? (review)" Lambda Book Report 10(1)(2001): 23.
  28. ↑ "Alexandra Grilikhes (obituary)". The Philadelphia Inquirer, via Legacy.com. 2003-02-27. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
  29. ↑ Nelson, Valerie J. (2007-03-17). "Michel 'Mike' Grilikhes, 83; produced arena spectacles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
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