May Swenson; Poet Known for Her Charming Imagery

May Swenson, a poet praised for her charming imagery in dealing with such mundane subjects as the game of baseball and minor injuries suffered by children at play, has died.

She was 76 and died Dec. 4 of unknown causes, according to her sister, Margaret Swenson Woodbury of Provo, Utah. Woodbury added, however, that her sister had long suffered from asthma and high blood pressure.

Miss Swenson, whose work is found in many anthologies and who was a regular contributor to the New Yorker, died in Bethany Beach, Del., where she lived during the winter.

A native of Logan, Utah, Miss Swenson moved to New York in the 1930s and published her first book of poems, “Another Animal,” in 1954.

All together, she published nine volumes of poems. Besides the New Yorker, she also wrote for Atlantic Monthly and Saturday Review.

“She wrote about natural things--animals and the out-of-doors and the latest in science technology, and she wrote about places and things she had seen around the world and about her family,” Woodbury said.

In contrast to most contemporary poets, her work generally dwelt with joyful, lighthearted subjects.

Miss Swenson’s latest work, “In Other Words,” was published three years ago. She had been awarded a $375,000 MacArthur Foundation fellowship two years ago.

Her survivors include several other sisters and brothers and R. R. Knudson, her longtime companion.