One season only, and it's done.

July 29, 2005 10:18 AM

Stanley Kunitz turns 100.
What makes the engine go? / Desire, desire, desire. / The longing for the dance / stirs in the buried life.
Biography 1, 2; interview originally published in 1997; article here and Boston Globe editorial here. Happy Birthday, Mr. Kunitz.
posted by jokeefe (13 comments total)

So much for poets dying young suicides! Three cheers for Stan.
posted by ori at 10:28 AM on July 29, 2005

Oh, lovely! Thanks, jokeefe.
posted by scody at 10:48 AM on July 29, 2005

And three cheers for poetry posts.

There are more Kunitz poems here and here and lots of other places, and there's a 2001 NPR interview here.
posted by pracowity at 10:53 AM on July 29, 2005

Most welcome, scody.

And here's a great quote from the 1997 interview which I can't resist throwing in: "To live as a poet in this culture is the aesthetic equivalent of a major political statement."
posted by jokeefe at 10:56 AM on July 29, 2005

Garrison Keillor reads Kunitz's "Touch Me" on today's "Writer's Almanac" as part of their birthday tribute.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:19 AM on July 29, 2005

For over 40 years, my family stayed for two weeks each summer at a house in the West End of Provincetown. One of the beautiful old houses there always had the most amazing garden growing in front of it, with a white-haired old man tending it. The beauty of Provincetown Harbor, among other things, made me want to become a poet.

I didn't. But I did become a writer, and on my way to that, I waited tables for 11 years. By studying poetry, I discovered the wonderful work of Stanley Kunitz. Then I found out that he lives in that house in Provincetown, and that the garden is his. He's written many poems about it. One night when I was working at a restaurant in San Francisco, Kunitz was reading nearby, and he came in and sat down at one of my tables. I brought him a plate of Wellfleet oysters and said, "Mr. Kunitz, you have the most beautiful garden in the West End." He looked up surprised and smiled.

Now, writing is how I make my living. I'm 47 years old. In two weeks, my mother and I will make the trip to Provincetown, perhaps for the last time, to scatter my father's ashes in the harbor. It was his favorite place on Earth.

And Kunitz is still writing poetry from that marvelous place. God bless him, and thanks for the link.
posted by digaman at 1:59 PM on July 29, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

man, i thought he died right after "eyes wide shut" and that's why we got stuck with that crappy spielberg version of "a.i."

shows what i know.
posted by Hat Maui at 2:17 PM on July 29, 2005

Kunitz 'managed to convey that the poet was the servant of the poem and that you made yourself entirely available to it, gave it the full benefit of your conscious mind, intuition, and patience."

That just kicks ass.

Great post.
posted by lilboo at 2:45 PM on July 29, 2005

In two weeks, my mother and I will make the trip to Provincetown, perhaps for the last time, to scatter my father's ashes in the harbor.

I have attended the scattering of the ashes of three friends off of the West End -- as these friends used to say, "The West End is the best end" -- of P-town into the harbor. Truly a beautiful spot for a send-off. Regards to you and your mother as you memoralize your father at a place with such meaning to your family.

[Aside - if you have not already read it, I suspect you will enjoy Michael Cunningham's Land's End : A Walk in Provincetown.]
posted by ericb at 3:04 PM on July 29, 2005

Kunitz read his poem, "The Long Boat," on NPR today.
posted by kickingtheground at 4:05 PM on July 29, 2005

Here's video of Kunitz reading Touch Me, The Layers, and Passing Through.
posted by gwint at 5:06 PM on July 29, 2005

I have, eric. Also Mark Doty's exquisite "Heaven's Coast," which I recommend as well. Thanks.
posted by digaman at 10:12 AM on July 30, 2005

Thanks for the recommendation on "Heaven's Coast." Just ordered it on Amazon. Thanks.
posted by ericb at 11:40 AM on July 30, 2005