[New-Poetry] Stanley Kunitz, R.I.P.

[David Graham]

By KAREN JEFFREY
and ERIC WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITERS

Stanley Kunitz, former U.S. poet laureate and one of the founding  
members of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, died yesterday  
in his New York City home.


Stanley Kunitz
Former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner helped establish  
the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.


He was 100.

Born in Worcester when Theodore Roosevelt was president and in the  
year that nearly saw San Francisco destroyed by the worst earthquake  
in U.S. history, it was not the span of Kunitz's life that affected  
those who knew him. It was the breadth and depth of his intellect,  
his passion for words, and the magnitude of his generosity toward  
young artists and writers that served as the hallmark for this  
remarkable talent and life.

''It is a huge loss for us,'' said Hunter O'Hanian, director of the  
Fine Arts Work Center, where Kunitz still served on the board of  
directors.

''Stanley was an amazing individual who leaves behind a huge  
collection of poetry and works, but more importantly is a man who  
knew how to be a friend,'' O'Hanion said.

''He believed that artists needed fellowship and he devoted a big  
part of his life to ensuring young artists and writers had  
opportunities,'' O'Hanion said.

The son of immigrants, Kunitz grew up in Worcester and attended  
Harvard College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1926 and a  
master's degree in 1927. He worked briefly as a feature reporter for  
the Worcester Telegram before leaving for New York City where in 1928  
he edited the Wilson Library Bulletin and collaborated on four  
biographical dictionaries of British and American authors.

His first book of poetry, ''Intellectual Things,'' was published in  
1930 to scarce recognition. Another 14 years was to pass before his  
second book, ''Passport to War,'' saw publication. Kunitz served in  
the Army during World War II after his request for conscientious  
objector status was denied.

After the war he took the first in a series of academic jobs, this  
one at Bennington College in Vermont and in 1958 he received the  
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for a published collection of his works. He  
continued to teach at universities through the 1980s including  
Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Rutgers and the University of Washington,  
where he was the poet-in-residence from 1955 to 1956.

''Stanley's genius expressed itself in generosity, in many ways. He  
was always quick to see what was interesting and original in a  
writer's work, and to encourage that,'' said Heidi Schmidt, author  
and teacher at the Fine Arts Center.

''His vision steered the Fine Arts Work Center, from the very  
beginning, through hard times and good times, even up through last  
summer, when, on his 100th birthday, he gave as vital and stirring a  
reading as I've ever heard,'' she said.

Kunitz was described as elfin and humorous in many of his  
interactions. The death of his wife, painter Elise Asher, two years  
go was a big blow to Kunitz, said those who knew him. He had nursed  
her through a few years of ill health before her death. He was such a  
popular and familiar figure in Provincetown that his death was  
announced last night on the town's Web site.

''He was always very generous with his affection for Provincetown,''  
said Keith Bergman, Provincetown town manager. ''He was a joy to be  
with.''

Bergman presented Kunitz with a town proclamation last summer,  
declaring July 29, 2005, Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz Day, and  
marking the 100th birthday of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete, but Kunitz is expected to be  
buried in Provincetown.

Karen Jeffrey can be reached at kjeffrey at capecodonline.com. Eric  
Williams can be reached at ewilliams at capecodonline.com.

(Published: May 15, 2006)

Copyright © Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved.


==========================================
David Graham
grahamd at ripon.edu
Home Page:
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/GrahamD/index.html
Poetry Library:
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/GrahamD/poetrylib.html
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