Stanley Kunitz

I just returned from a trip to the public library with my two little ones. Emmy and Nick have been obsessed with Silly Sally by Don and Audrey Wood for weeks now since they've been reading it in preschool. So, we took a trip to the library to pick up a copy and I indulged in some poetry reading. I checked out The Collected Poems of Stanley Kunitz and The Wild Braid. The Wild Braid is a book that focuses on Stanley Kunitz and his musings on gardening and writing. Genine Lentine apparently spent about two years with Kunitz just talking to him and walking around his garden with him. Marnie Crawford Samuelson contributes photography of Kunitz in his garden and the total affect is a book that helps readers connect with Kunitz as an artist and person.

Here is a quote from the opening of Kunitz's Collected Poems:

Years ago I came to the realization that the most poignant of all lyric tensions stems from the awareness that we are living and dying at once. To embrace such knowledge and yet to remain compassionate and whole -- that is the consummation of the endeavor of art.

I strive to remain compassionate and whole. I don't know about you, but it is often a struggle for me.