Served in the U.S. Air Force from 1943 to 1945 during World War II as a
gunner in a B17 and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.
Son of Jacob J. and Dorothy (Cohen) Shapiro, who came from a small
village outside Kiev, Russia.
Received a BA from Yale (1947) and an MA from Columbia (1948).
Taught English at Cornell University (1949-1952) and as a Creative
Writing Fellow at Bard College (1950-1951).
Poet, journalist; fiction editor of the New Yorker (1956-1957); editor
of the New York Times Book Review (1975-1983); since 1957, editor at
the New York Times Magazine.
Influenced by the Objectivist poets, Shapiro's poems recurrently
describe New York City and the religious traditions of Judaism.