Monday, May 15, 2006

Midweek Breaking Line: Stanley Kunitz has died

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Google News Search "Stanley Kunitz"

Google Web Search "Stanley Kunitz"

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2 comments :

Anonymous said...

A loss for sure, but we, as poets/poetry lovers should celebrate his long life, his ability to remain active in his craft for so long. Dying at one hundred, active well into one's nineties is something to hope for, not to grieve.

Pat

Rus Bowden said...

Hi Pat,

Thanks for stopping in. It's great to see you again. I link there to your Mindfire poems, and here's the page with your very fine poem "Headed for Home With A Hopeless Prognosis" at The Guardian this year: Opposition victories.

On Stanley Kunitz . . . here's a link to a Boston Globe article celebrating his 100th birthday last year: Stanley Kunitz at 100. The last paragraph is this:

At this age, Kunitz almost certainly has all the presents he needs, so it's best to mark his birthday by treating oneself, by reading or writing work that converts life into legend, as Kunitz says poetry does. Throw a party that's a celebration of walking through many lives.

A hundred years of a good life on this planet is a hundred years of a good thing for our planet project here. We would do well to do the same now in his memory, read and write "work that convert life into legend." Even throw a party about it. Having flatlined myself, there's something to that point of view, that honors the deceased.

Grieving, and the loss, taps into the mystery of life and death, and the doubt that there is more, versus the hope that there is--no matter what it may entail as far as what it means to "pass on." The other side of that loss, is there will be no more direct contribution from him. This contribution, I mean, even in day-to-day living.

I have never got down to P-Town to see his garden. It would be good if somehow, either within his circle of friends and family, or the community, it could be maintained.

Yours,
Rus