CHARLES SIMIC
Charles Simic has been a role model for many
young and old with his unique view. Life was not always easy for Simic. Simic
lived in Yugoslavia during World War II. Simic had a hard childhood with the war
overshadowing his childhood experiences. Simic writes many poems that relate to
his distinctive experiences and let the reader now more about his past and his
culture. Simic had one chance to be free from the world of hunger and poetry but
many Yugoslavians did not get the chance to experience what he did. In his good
fortune, Simic moved to the U.S. with his mother and brother to start a new life.
He then began writing and his first poem was published in 1958 while in high
school.
Simic’s first interest in poetry came from his close friends and began "When I
noticed in high school that one of my friends was attracting the best looking
girls by writing them sappy love poems." Simic was never rich and could not
afford to go to college because of the high expense and because of the stress it
would cause for his parents. His father wanted him to become an artist but was
an optimist who thought that the money for college would one day appear. Simic
overcame that obstacle by working night shifts to pay for college and studying
and attending classes in the morning. He then continued with his writing and
graduated from the University of New York with a bachelor’s degree from learning
during the night and working during the day to pay for college admission.
Despite this hard point in his career, Simic published about 60 books of poetry
and eventually won many awards for the writing. His book of prose poems The
World Doesn't End was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1990. His previous volumes
of poetry include Kerns Cosmology (1977), nominated for the National Book Award,
and Classic Ballroom Dances (1980), which won the 1980 di Castagnola Award and
the Harriet Monroe Poetry Award. Walking the Black Cat (1996) was also nominated
for the National Book Award. Charles Simic has received the Edgar Allan Poe
Award, the PEN Translation Prize, and awards from the American Academy of Arts
and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1983, he received
a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
At the root of all of these accomplishments are many of the poets that
influenced Simic and his writing. These people helped teach Simic and change his
perception of poetic language. This is revealed in his works, which display a
variety of influences, including those of German philosopher Martin Heidegger,
Yugoslavian poet Vasko Popa, American poets from Walt Whitman to Theodore
Roethke, and French surrealists such as André Bréton and Stéphane Mallarmé.
Today, Charles Simic is a Professor of English at the University of New
Hampshire. He has a wife named Helene and two kids, Anna and Philip. What would
Simic have done if he were not a poet? He would have liked to own a small
restaurant and do his own cooking. The dishes he prefers are mostly
Mediterranean, and he would have friends to work as waiters. This dream is
interesting because in the world of poverty of his childhood, he did not dream
about being as wealthy as a doctor or lawyer. Instead he has dreamt small and
accomplished much. He is a role model for the many young poets of the world.
Charles Simic has been a role model for many
young and old with his unique view. Life was not always easy for Simic. Simic
lived in Yugoslavia during World War II. Simic had a hard childhood with the war
overshadowing his childhood experiences. Simic writes many poems that relate to
his distinctive experiences and let the reader now more about his past and his
culture. Simic had one chance to be free from the world of hunger and poetry but
many Yugoslavians did not get the chance to experience what he did. In his good
fortune, Simic moved to the U.S. with his mother and brother to start a new life.
He then began writing and his first poem was published in 1958 while in high
school.
Simic’s first interest in poetry came from his close friends and began "When I
noticed in high school that one of my friends was attracting the best looking
girls by writing them sappy love poems." Simic was never rich and could not
afford to go to college because of the high expense and because of the stress it
would cause for his parents. His father wanted him to become an artist but was
an optimist who thought that the money for college would one day appear. Simic
overcame that obstacle by working night shifts to pay for college and studying
and attending classes in the morning. He then continued with his writing and
graduated from the University of New York with a bachelor’s degree from learning
during the night and working during the day to pay for college admission.
Despite this hard point in his career, Simic published about 60 books of poetry
and eventually won many awards for the writing. His book of prose poems The
World Doesn't End was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1990. His previous volumes
of poetry include Kerns Cosmology (1977), nominated for the National Book Award,
and Classic Ballroom Dances (1980), which won the 1980 di Castagnola Award and
the Harriet Monroe Poetry Award. Walking the Black Cat (1996) was also nominated
for the National Book Award. Charles Simic has received the Edgar Allan Poe
Award, the PEN Translation Prize, and awards from the American Academy of Arts
and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1983, he received
a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
At the root of all of these accomplishments are many of the poets that
influenced Simic and his writing. These people helped teach Simic and change his
perception of poetic language. This is revealed in his works, which display a
variety of influences, including those of German philosopher Martin Heidegger,
Yugoslavian poet Vasko Popa, American poets from Walt Whitman to Theodore
Roethke, and French surrealists such as André Bréton and Stéphane Mallarmé.
Today, Charles Simic is a Professor of English at the University of New
Hampshire. He has a wife named Helene and two kids, Anna and Philip. What would
Simic have done if he were not a poet? He would have liked to own a small
restaurant and do his own cooking. The dishes he prefers are mostly
Mediterranean, and he would have friends to work as waiters. This dream is
interesting because in the world of poverty of his childhood, he did not dream
about being as wealthy as a doctor or lawyer. Instead he has dreamt small and
accomplished much. He is a role model for the many young poets of the world.