Gene Frumkin
Encyclopedia
Gene Frumkin was an American poet and teacher.
Born and raised in New York City and educated at the University of California, Los Angeles
(B.A. in English, 1950; editor, Daily Bruin http://www.ulwaf.com/Daily-Bruin-History/11A_Strike.html), Eugene Frumkin worked as a bank teller before beginning his writing career as a journalist. He first took up poetry seriously while enrolled in an adult education class taught by the poet Thomas McGrath
. During the 1950s he was Poetry Editor of the literary journal Coastlines, which he co-founded with Mel Weisburd in 1955 http://eskimopie.net/weisburd.htm.
In 1966, Frumkin moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to take a teaching position at the University of New Mexico
, where he remained until his retirement in 1994. At the University Frumkin edited the Blue Mesa Review and taught a number of students who would go on to distinguished careers, including Gloria Frym
, Joy Harjo
, Simon Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko
. In 1968, Frumkin signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Frumkin's poetry has appeared in Chelsea, Conjunctions
, Evergreen Review
, Kayak, New Letters, The Paris Review, Poetry Magazine, Sulfur, and many other literary magazines, and in anthologies ranging from Robert Bly
's Forty Poems Touching on Recent American History (1970) to The Best American Poetry
2002, edited by Robert Creeley
. His work is noted for its meditative character, its wit, and its unexpected turns and surprises, which show the influence of Surrealism
.
The Orange Tree (Cyfoeth, 1965)
The Rainbow-Walker (Grasshopper Press, 1968)
Dostoevsky and Other Nature Poems (Solo Press, 1972)
Locust Cry: Poems 1958-1965 (San Marcos Press, 1973)
The Indian Rio Grande: Recent Poems from 3 Cultures (co-editor, with Stanley Noyes; San Marcos Press, 1977)
The Mystic Writing-Pad (Red Hill Press, 1977)
Loops (San Marcos Press, 1979)
Clouds and Red Earth (Swallow Press, 1981)
A Lover’s Quarrel with America (Automatic Press, 1985)
A Sweetness in the Air (Solo Press, 1987)
Comma in the Ear (Living Batch Press, 1990)
Saturn Is Mostly Weather: Selected and Uncollected Poems (Cinco Puntos Press, 1992)
The Old Man Who Swam Away and Left Only His Wet Feet (La Alameda Press, 1998)
Falling Into Meditation (Instress, 1999)
Freud by Other Means (La Alameda Press, 2003)
The Curvature of the Earth (co-author, with Alvaro Cardona-Hine; University of New Mexico, 2007)
Born and raised in New York City and educated at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(B.A. in English, 1950; editor, Daily Bruin http://www.ulwaf.com/Daily-Bruin-History/11A_Strike.html), Eugene Frumkin worked as a bank teller before beginning his writing career as a journalist. He first took up poetry seriously while enrolled in an adult education class taught by the poet Thomas McGrath
Thomas McGrath (poet)
Thomas Matthew McGrath, was a celebrated American poet....
. During the 1950s he was Poetry Editor of the literary journal Coastlines, which he co-founded with Mel Weisburd in 1955 http://eskimopie.net/weisburd.htm.
In 1966, Frumkin moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to take a teaching position at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, where he remained until his retirement in 1994. At the University Frumkin edited the Blue Mesa Review and taught a number of students who would go on to distinguished careers, including Gloria Frym
Gloria Frym
-Biography:Gloria Frym is an American poet, fiction writer, and essayist. She grew up in Los Angeles and lived in New Mexico for many years...
, Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo is a Native American poet, musician, and author of ancestry. Known primarily as a poet, Harjo has also taught at the college level, played alto saxophone with a band called Poetic Justice, edited literary journals, and written screenplays. She is a member of the Muscogee Nation and...
, Simon Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko
Leslie Marmon Silko
Leslie Marmon Silko is a Native American writer of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, and one of the key figures in the second wave of what Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance...
. In 1968, Frumkin signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Frumkin's poetry has appeared in Chelsea, Conjunctions
Conjunctions
Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
, Evergreen Review
Evergreen Review
Evergreen Review is a U.S.-based literary magazine founded by Barney Rosset, publisher of Grove Press. It existed in print from 1957 through 1973, and was re-launched online in 1998...
, Kayak, New Letters, The Paris Review, Poetry Magazine, Sulfur, and many other literary magazines, and in anthologies ranging from Robert Bly
Robert Bly
Robert Bly is an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.-Life:Bly was born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, to Jacob and Alice Bly, who were of Norwegian ancestry. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving...
's Forty Poems Touching on Recent American History (1970) to The Best American Poetry
The Best American Poetry
The Best American Poetry series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems.The series, begun by poet and editor David Lehman in 1988, has a different guest editor every year...
2002, edited by Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
. His work is noted for its meditative character, its wit, and its unexpected turns and surprises, which show the influence of Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
.
Works
The Hawk and the Lizard (Swallow Press, 1963)The Orange Tree (Cyfoeth, 1965)
The Rainbow-Walker (Grasshopper Press, 1968)
Dostoevsky and Other Nature Poems (Solo Press, 1972)
Locust Cry: Poems 1958-1965 (San Marcos Press, 1973)
The Indian Rio Grande: Recent Poems from 3 Cultures (co-editor, with Stanley Noyes; San Marcos Press, 1977)
The Mystic Writing-Pad (Red Hill Press, 1977)
Loops (San Marcos Press, 1979)
Clouds and Red Earth (Swallow Press, 1981)
A Lover’s Quarrel with America (Automatic Press, 1985)
A Sweetness in the Air (Solo Press, 1987)
Comma in the Ear (Living Batch Press, 1990)
Saturn Is Mostly Weather: Selected and Uncollected Poems (Cinco Puntos Press, 1992)
The Old Man Who Swam Away and Left Only His Wet Feet (La Alameda Press, 1998)
Falling Into Meditation (Instress, 1999)
Freud by Other Means (La Alameda Press, 2003)
The Curvature of the Earth (co-author, with Alvaro Cardona-Hine; University of New Mexico, 2007)