August 23, 1911 [Los Angeles] – June 26, 1974 [Los Angeles]
Burden studied under Thornton Wilder at the University of Chicago, from which she graduated in 1936. Her first poems were published in 1939 in Poetry (Chicago). She married David [ ] in 1940; they divorced in 1949. Soon afterwards, she had a “four year, tumultuous love affair” with the British philosopher and interpreter of Eastern thinking, Alan Watts. She served as West Coast editor of Faith Today and for nearly 50 years (1955–2002) was the poetry editor of Yankee Magazine. She also wrote multiple animal-care books under the pen name Felicia Ames such as the bestseller The Classic Cat. California State University established the Jean Burden Annual Poetry Series in 1986. The Jean Burden prize from the Academy of American Poets is named in her honor.
