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

[Anny Ballardini]

"The poem comes in the form of a blessing --- 'like rapture breaking on the mind,' as I tried to phrase it in my youth. Through the years I have found this gift of poetry to be life-sustaining, life-enhancing, and absolutely unpredictable. Does one live, therefore, for the sake of poetry? No, the reverse is true: poetry is for the sake of the life."

--- Stanley Kunitz
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David Graham 
  To: NewPoetry & Views 
  Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 5:28 PM
  Subject: [New-Poetry] Stanley Kunitz, R.I.P.


  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:

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