James Laughlin
Poet
American poet and publisher whose literary works include The Owl of Minerva and The House of Light. He established New Directions Publishing, which published Herman Hesse's their novel, Siddhartha, in 1951.
He attended Harvard University during the 1930s. He published his debut poetry collection, Some Natural Things, in 1945.
He was the 1992 recipient of the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award.
He was born in Pennsylvania, where his family owned a profitable steel company.
He published the work of William Carlos Williams and other prominent poets.