George Starbuck
Encyclopedia
George Edwin Starbuck was an American poet
of the neo-formalist
school.
, the California Institute of Technology
, the University of California
, the American Academy in Rome
, the University of Chicago
, and Harvard University
. He taught at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Boston University
, and State University of New York, Buffalo. He was fired for not taking a loyalty oath, but was vindicated in the Supreme Court
. His students included Maxine Kumin
, Peter Davison
, Emily Hiestand
, Mary Baine Campbell
, Craig Lucas
, and Askold Melnyczuk.
He had five children: Margaret, Stephen, John, Anthony, and Joshua. His papers are held at the University of Alabama
library.
His work is marked by clever rhymes, witty asides, and the fusing of Romantic themes with cynicism towards modern life. Starbuck called his style of formalism SLABS, for Standard Length And Breadth Sonnets. He was not widely appreciated by mainstream culture during his lifetime, but in the few years since his death his work has earned favor from both literary critics and casual readers of poetry. Two new collections of his poems have been published in the last few years (Poems Selected from Five Decades and Visible Ink) and have helped win him a wider audience. Starbuck's best-known poems include "Tuolomne," "On an Urban Battlefield," and "Sonnet With a Different Letter At the End of Every Line."
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
of the neo-formalist
Formalism (literature)
Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text.In literary theory, formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. These features include not only grammar...
school.
Life
He studied at Chadwick SchoolChadwick School
Chadwick School is a nonsectarian independent K-12 day school located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, California.-History:...
, the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
, the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He taught at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, and State University of New York, Buffalo. He was fired for not taking a loyalty oath, but was vindicated in the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. His students included Maxine Kumin
Maxine Kumin
Maxine Kumin is an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1981-1982.-Early years:...
, Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
, Emily Hiestand
Emily Hiestand
-Life:She grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1970, she moved to Boston, where she worked as a graphic designer...
, Mary Baine Campbell
Mary Baine Campbell
Mary Baine Campbell is an American poet, scholar, and professor. She teaches medieval and Renaissance literature, as well as creative writing, at Brandeis University.-Awards:...
, Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:...
, and Askold Melnyczuk.
He had five children: Margaret, Stephen, John, Anthony, and Joshua. His papers are held at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
library.
His work is marked by clever rhymes, witty asides, and the fusing of Romantic themes with cynicism towards modern life. Starbuck called his style of formalism SLABS, for Standard Length And Breadth Sonnets. He was not widely appreciated by mainstream culture during his lifetime, but in the few years since his death his work has earned favor from both literary critics and casual readers of poetry. Two new collections of his poems have been published in the last few years (Poems Selected from Five Decades and Visible Ink) and have helped win him a wider audience. Starbuck's best-known poems include "Tuolomne," "On an Urban Battlefield," and "Sonnet With a Different Letter At the End of Every Line."
Awards
- 1982 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, for The Argot Merchant Disaster: Poems New and Selected
- 1960 Yale Series of Younger Poets CompetitionYale Series of Younger Poets CompetitionThe Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the first collection of a promising American poet...
Online Poems
- "Of Late", Poetry (October 1966)
- "Tuolomne" AGNI 8, 1978
- "Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree", Poetry (December 1978)
- "Catalogue Raisonné of My Refrigerator Door", Poetry (October 1987)
- "Sonnet with a Different Letter at the End of Every Line", Poetry Foundation
- "Sign", Poetry Foundation
- "A Tapestry for Bayeux", Poetry Foundation
- "On Reading John Hollander’s Poem “Breadth. Circle. Desert. Monarch. Month. Wisdom. (for which there are no rhymes)“", Poetry Foundation
Partial bibliography
- Desperate Measures, D. R. Godine, August 1978
- Elegy in a Country Church Yard, September 1975
- White Paper, Little, Brown, 1966
- Bone Thoughts, 1960