From 1949 to 1959, Pollak worked as a rare books librarian at Northwestern University. He became a rare books librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1959, where he remained until his retirement in 1974.[4] One of his primary duties was maintaining and developing the Sukov collection of literary magazines (now called the "Little Magazine Collection"),[5] which is one of the world's finest collections of small literary magazines and publications by independent poetry presses. After his retirement, Pollak continued to reside in Madison, Wisconsin, until his death in 1987.
In addition to his work as a librarian, Pollak was an accomplished poet.[2] He published seven volumes of poetry, and his work appeared in a range of publications, including The American Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, Quixote,TriQuarterly, The Madison Review, and the Wisconsin Academy Review. His most well-known poem, "Speaking: The Hero", has frequently been cited as a forceful example of Vietnam war protest poetry, though it was written in response to the Nazi concentration camps and the bombing of Hiroshima.[2][4][6]
Since 1994, the University of Wisconsin Press has annually awarded a poetry prize named after Pollak.[7][8]
Works
Pollak, Felix. The Castle and the Flaw. New Rochelle, New York: Elizabeth Press, 1963.
Pollak, Felix. Say When. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Juniper Press, 1969.
Pollak, Felix. Ginkgo. New Rochelle, New York: Elizabeth Press, 1973.
Pollak, Felix. Subject to Change. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Juniper Press, 1978.
Pollak, Felix. Prose and Cons. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Juniper Press, 1983.
