Stanley Kunitz was born on this day in 1905, and he was still writing and publishing poetry 100 years later. Near the midpoint of his career, in 1959, Kunitz was awarded a Pulitzer for Selected Poems, 1928-1958.
At an 80th birthday celebration in in Provincetown, Mass. where he spent much of each year, he joked: “I didn't want to be so old, but I'm willing to bear it, if you are.”
He went on to read “Passing Through,” which he says he wrote for his previous birthday. He begins speaking at 3:38 in the video.
We found a few more clips of Kunitz reading his own work to commemorate his long career. First, listen to him recite "The Layers."
As part of the PBS program "Poetry Everywhere," Kunitz read "Touch Me" on the air. The poem appeared in Passing Through: The Later Poems, New and Selected.
"King of the River" originally was published in the July 1970 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. Read the full poem at theatlantic.com, where you also can find an audio recording of Kunitz introducing the work, and audio of the poet reading "The Quarrel."
Fellow poet Gregory Orr interviewed an 88-year-old Kunitz — Orr’s teacher at Columbia University. They open with a big question: “What human purpose do you think poetry serves in our time?” Afterward, at 4:17, Kunitz reads his “Open the Gates.”
Kunitz reviewed other poets' work, too, including that of fellow Pulitzer winner Gwendolyn Brooks. In a 1950 piece titled, "Bronze by Gold," that appeared in Poetry magazine, Kunitz considered Brooks' Annie Allen, but the ideas expressed were broad:
In his first book, as a rule, the poet exults in his discovery that he can fly; in his second book he tests his speed and his range and possibly even begins his examination of the theory of flight.
Stanley Kunitz died on May 14, 2006, at home in New York City. He was 100 years old.