Wednesday, April 09, 2008

The OTHER Poetry Pulitzer News



Here's the short version of the just announced Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, quoted directly from the New York Times and its web site:

POETRY: ROBERT HASS AND PHILIP SCHULTZ
"Time and Materials," by Robert Hass and "Failure," by Philip Schultz

In his sixth volume of poetry, Mr. Hass, 67, a former poet laureate, wrote about large subjects of international import, like global warming, as well as more personal verse in an exploration of the role of public and private life. Mr. Hass also won the National Book Award for poetry last year.

Mr. Schultz, 63, found inspiration for his fifth volume of poetry in finally discussing the death of his father when Mr. Schultz was 18 and the family business fell apart. “It was a hole that I was digging myself out of the rest of my life,” he said. Mr. Schultz runs the Writers Studio in New York.

FINALIST "Messenger: New and Selected Poems, 1976-2006" by Ellen Bryant Voigt.

* Review for "Time and Materials" (Oct. 7, 2007)
* Times Topics: Robert Hass


Note two significant aspects: One, for those of us in Vermont who've already become passionate fans of Ellen Bryant Voigt and her demanding and intelligent teaching of poetry, the FINALIST hasn't been mentioned much in the news -- so congratulations, Professor Voigt, and hurrah for your comprehensive "new and selected" that came so close to taking this year's top laurels.

Second, oh gosh, where are the links to Philip Schultz's book FAILURE? Everyone is headlining their commentaries with Hass; well, of course, he's already well known and took a National Book Award as well.

But if you're curious about Schultz and his book -- as I have been -- here's a start:

Schultz's poem "Failure" in SLATE, with Schultz reading it: click here.

A 2006 Garrison Keillor interview with Schultz, partly about the preceding collection, LIVING IN THE PAST, but mostly about his writing and growth: click here.

And perhaps most significant of all, a profile of Schultz from The Writers Studio, which he founded in 1987.

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