Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Providence Journal: For much of the 20th century, it seemed our most prominent poets were of the fragile or self-extinguishing kind. But Stanley Kunitz, who died last week, at 100, steamed unflamboyantly through those years, garnering awards, teaching and tending a rather extensive garden.
Named the 10th U.S. poet laureate at age 95, Kunitz was still turning out verse at that point. His work drew on nature and mythology, taking shape in what he called "a middle style." Over time, the formality of his early work had eased, yielding lines that were simpler and more direct. Lofty sentiment rarely won the upper hand, but neither did unfiltered confession.
Kunitz had an unfazed quality that drew legions of younger poets to him. He was generous with his help, guiding such writers as Louise Gluck, James Wright and Carolyn Kizer as they launched their careers.
Stanley Kunitz was born in Worcester, Mass., the son of a dressmaker from Lithuania. His father killed himself shortly before Kunitz was born, and later figured prominently in the poet's imagination.
After excelling in the Worcester public schools, Kunitz attended Harvard, on a scholarship, graduating summa cum laude. He hoped to stay on for a doctorate but was told that students would resent being taught English by a Jew.
Newspaperman
So Kunitz turned to newspapers, working briefly at The Worcester Telegram, before trying his hand at farming (an adventure that failed, twice). Editing reference works helped him get by as he started to sell poems; his first collection, "Intellectual Things," came out in 1930.
Following the war, Kunitz took numerous teaching positions, beginning at Bennington College, in Vermont. His several books won him the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and a National Medal of the Arts.
He helped found two writing centers, including the Fine Arts Work Center, in Provincetown, Mass., where, from 1957 on, he spent his summers. His elaborate garden there eventually became the subject of his last book, "The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden."
Kunitz married three times, sharing the Provincetown years with his third wife, artist Elise Asher, who died in 2004. With some assistance, he was able to live on his own until the end.