Stanley Kunitz dies at 100
Former poet laureate Stanley Kunitz is dead. I once did a report on him and even wrote him a letter to which he never responded. But I still like his poetry. I'm sure he will be missed by the poetry world. Here is a link to an article about him:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12801949/
Here is a poem:
The Portrait by Stanley Kunitz
My mother never forgave my father
for killing himself,
especially at such an awkward time
and in a public park,
that spring
when I was waiting to be born.
She locked his name
in her deepest cabinet
and would not let him out,
though I could hear him thumping.
When I came down from the attic
with the pastel portrait in my hand
of a long-lipped stranger
with a brave moustache
and deep brown level eyes,
she ripped it into shreds
without a single word
and slapped me hard.
In my sixty-fourth year
I can feel my cheek
still burning.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12801949/
Here is a poem:
The Portrait by Stanley Kunitz
My mother never forgave my father
for killing himself,
especially at such an awkward time
and in a public park,
that spring
when I was waiting to be born.
She locked his name
in her deepest cabinet
and would not let him out,
though I could hear him thumping.
When I came down from the attic
with the pastel portrait in my hand
of a long-lipped stranger
with a brave moustache
and deep brown level eyes,
she ripped it into shreds
without a single word
and slapped me hard.
In my sixty-fourth year
I can feel my cheek
still burning.
posted by Sarah L. at 11:06 AM
3 Comments:
the poet laureate quality has been
a hit and miss proposition as far
as quality is concerned. give me
kunitz, pinsky and gwendolyn brooks
Fistfulls of love from the land by the lake.
Keep a lookout for mail.
Send poems when able.
even in death kunitz triumphs over
a lifetime of adversity with the written word. his poetry has made him one of the immortals.
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