w.d. snodgrass (1926-2009)

William DeWitt Snodgrass was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 1926. His first collection of poetry, Heart's Needle, was published in 1959 and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1960. Often credited as being a founding member of "confessional" poetry, he openly dismissed the term as a description of his work. Snodgrass died on Tuesday at his home in Erieville, NY, in rural Madison County. He was 83.


Further reading:

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass dies (AP)

W.D. Snodgrass, 83, a Poet of Intensely Autobiographical Themes, Is Dead (The New York Times)

Snodgrass at The New Yorker, The Poetry Foundation and the Academy of American Poets

Interviews at The Paris Review, Contemporary Poetry Review, The Waywiser Press and The Poetry Foundation

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death of a young american poet

David Foster Wallace was found dead in his California home on Friday. He was the author of The Broom of the System (1987), Girl With Curious Hair (1989), A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (1997) and Infinite Jest (1996). In his writing he captured the contradictions and absurdities of present day America, ultimately unveiling a nation obsessed with wealth and pleasure. "If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly", he said once. He was not preaching. He just noticed something may be not quite right in America. "Among people my age, even those who belong to a well-off class who has never suffered any type of discrimination, there's a feeling of discomfort, a profound disconnection and sadness", he said.

Going back to his literary legacy is the best tribute we can pay him. The infinite jest lives on.


Further reading:

Novelist David Foster Wallace found dead (AP)

Postmodern Writer Is Found Dead at Home (The New York Times)

The Howling Fantods

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