Post by jiyang35 on May 21, 2012 18:15:03 GMT -5
Stephen Dunn is one of the most renowned and highly acclaimed contemporary poet in our society today. Through the use of simple writing and basic tactics many readers find themselves attached to Dunn’s variety of works. Easy to read and understand, Dunn’s works can appeal to an assorted audience rather than just a certain few.
Born in the hustle and bustle state of New York in 1939, Dunn as a teenager and young adult had already experienced many aspects of a post WWII lifestyle. He was raised comfortably in the suburbs where he was financially secure and attended college at Hofstra University where for a short period of time, he played professional basketball. Among many others during this time period, Dunn also served in the armed forces. Not long after, he attempted to follow his father’s footsteps, a working salesman, by taking up a corporate job as an advertising copywriter. However, it was at this point, Dunn felt something missing in his life. Unhappy with the typical “American lifestyle” and what were considered ideal goals, he traveled to Spain trying to recollect himself. As unusual as it may seem, Dunn finally reached a resolution when he returned with a desire to write poetry.
A Pulitzer prize winner, Stephen Dunn "is [truly] wonderful at what he does". Exploring himself as a person and those around him, Dunn revolves many of his works around a popular subject: the intricacies of human emotions and expressions. As noted by a critic, “most of Dunn’s poems are subdued and pensive in tone. Thus, when any particularly pungent emotion presents itself, it is especially pronounced”.
Also exceptional in Dunn’s works, is his ability to create “familial relationships”. Although critics see in his poetry "the stuff of everyday life: small towns, houses, sidewalks, landlords, truck stops", Dunn never lacks truthful insight. In an interview, Dunn once stated, “I suppose that I’m the sum of all I’ve thought and imagined and experienced, and that informs my writing”. So compelling is his poetry that critics have said, “if the purpose of literature is to provide unique insight into the human experience, Stephen Dunn is a poet of as much literary merit as any I have ever read”. While some may interpret his poetry to be overly pessimistic, they nevertheless “appreciate the complexities of emotion he conveys”. For Dunn, it is important to depict the precarious nature of human life. In his mind, “the most dangerous people in the world are those who believe in only one idea, fundamentalists of any kind”.
We, being humans, can learn a lot about life by appreciating such unique but intuitive works of art. A former poet, Richard Milbur, marveled that "to read a few lines of a Stephen Dunn poem is to feel suddenly in touch with the way things are, and the way we really feel about them". With this in mind, I would like everyone here today to give a warm welcome to tonight’s special guest: Mr. Stephen Dunn.
Born in the hustle and bustle state of New York in 1939, Dunn as a teenager and young adult had already experienced many aspects of a post WWII lifestyle. He was raised comfortably in the suburbs where he was financially secure and attended college at Hofstra University where for a short period of time, he played professional basketball. Among many others during this time period, Dunn also served in the armed forces. Not long after, he attempted to follow his father’s footsteps, a working salesman, by taking up a corporate job as an advertising copywriter. However, it was at this point, Dunn felt something missing in his life. Unhappy with the typical “American lifestyle” and what were considered ideal goals, he traveled to Spain trying to recollect himself. As unusual as it may seem, Dunn finally reached a resolution when he returned with a desire to write poetry.
A Pulitzer prize winner, Stephen Dunn "is [truly] wonderful at what he does". Exploring himself as a person and those around him, Dunn revolves many of his works around a popular subject: the intricacies of human emotions and expressions. As noted by a critic, “most of Dunn’s poems are subdued and pensive in tone. Thus, when any particularly pungent emotion presents itself, it is especially pronounced”.
Also exceptional in Dunn’s works, is his ability to create “familial relationships”. Although critics see in his poetry "the stuff of everyday life: small towns, houses, sidewalks, landlords, truck stops", Dunn never lacks truthful insight. In an interview, Dunn once stated, “I suppose that I’m the sum of all I’ve thought and imagined and experienced, and that informs my writing”. So compelling is his poetry that critics have said, “if the purpose of literature is to provide unique insight into the human experience, Stephen Dunn is a poet of as much literary merit as any I have ever read”. While some may interpret his poetry to be overly pessimistic, they nevertheless “appreciate the complexities of emotion he conveys”. For Dunn, it is important to depict the precarious nature of human life. In his mind, “the most dangerous people in the world are those who believe in only one idea, fundamentalists of any kind”.
We, being humans, can learn a lot about life by appreciating such unique but intuitive works of art. A former poet, Richard Milbur, marveled that "to read a few lines of a Stephen Dunn poem is to feel suddenly in touch with the way things are, and the way we really feel about them". With this in mind, I would like everyone here today to give a warm welcome to tonight’s special guest: Mr. Stephen Dunn.