Maurice Sagoff

Maurice Sagoff (1909 or 1910 – March 18, 1998) was an American poet best remembered for ShrinkLits, his bestselling collection of light verse.

Maurice Sagoff
Born	1909 or 1910 Cambridge, Massachusetts
Died	(1998-03-18)March 18, 1998 Acton, Massachusetts
Occupation	Journalist, poet
Nationality	American
Genre	light verse
Notable works	ShrinkLits: 70 of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size

Sagoff was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After graduating from Boston College he worked for one decade as a research librarian at the Boston Public Library and for two decades at Fairchild Publications as a regional editor. After his retirement in 1954 he wrote ShrinkLits: 70 of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size, a collection of literary classics condensed into terse light poetry. The book, published by Doubleday in 1970, became a New York Times bestseller. He subsequently published his poetry in a number of publications, including The New York Times and Mademoiselle. Though ShrinkLits was his only published book, shortly before his death in 1998 he had completed a new manuscript for a collection of clerihews.

References

• Thomas, Jr., Robert McG. (March 29, 1998). "Maurice Sagoff, 88, a Master Of Terse Verses on Literature". The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2013.