Aaron Shurin (born 1947) is an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. He is the former director of the

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Writing Program at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

, where he is now Professor Emeritus.

Life and work

Aaron Shurin received his M.A. in

Poetics Poetics is the study or theory of poetry, specifically the study or theory of device, structure, form, type, and effect with regards to poetry, though usage of the term can also refer to literature broadly. Poetics is distinguished from hermeneu ...

from

New College of California New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008. New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...

, where he studied under poet Robert Duncan. He is a recipient of California Arts Council Literary Fellowships in poetry (1989, 2002), and a NEA fellowship in creative nonfiction (1995). Shurin is the former associate director of the ''Poetry Center & American Poetry Archives'' at San Francisco State University and the author of numerous books of poetry, including: ''Into Distances'' (1993), ''The Paradise of Forms: Selected Poems'' (1999), ''A Door'' (2000), ''Involuntary Lyrics'' (2005), ''

Citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

'' (2011), ''The Blue Absolute,'' and volumes of prose, including ''Unbound: A Book of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

'' (1997), ''The Skin of Meaning: Collected Literary Essays and Talks'' (University of Michigan Press, 2016), and ''King of Shadows'' (2008), a collection of essays. Shurin has taught extensively in the fields of American poetry and poetics, contemporary and classical prosody, improvisational techniques in composition, and the personal essay. According to his biography at the University of San Francisco, his own work is framed by the innovative traditions in lyric poetry as they extend the central purpose of the Romantic Imagination: to attend the world in its particularities, body and soul.

Poetics

Shurin's poetics might be described as a poetics of the voice in the tradition of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

and of those who followed. Writes Shurin: Following upon Whitman and Dickinson, Shurin acknowledges a multiplicity of influences on his sense of a poetics:

Bibliography

* ''Woman on Fire''. Rose Deeprose Press, 1975. * ''The Night Sun''. Gay Sunshine Press, 1976. * ''Giving Up The Ghost''. Rose Deeprose Press, 1980. * ''The Graces''. Four Seasons Foundation, 1983. * ''A's Dream''. O Books, 1989. * ''Into Distances''. Sun & Moon Press, 1993. * ''Unbound: A Book of AIDS''. Sun & Moon Press, 1997. * ''The Paradise of Forms: Selected Poems''. Talisman House, 1999. * ''A Door''. Talisman House, 2000. * ''Narrativity''. Sun & Moon Press, 2001. * ''Involuntary Lyrics''. Omnidawn, 2005. * ''King of Shadows''. City Lights Publishers, 2008. * ''Citizen''. City Lights Publishers, 2011. * ''The Skin of Meaning: Collected Literary Essays and Talks''. University of Michigan Press, 2016. * ''Flowers & Sky: Two Talks''. Entre Rios Books, 2017. * ''The Blue Absolute''. Nightboat Books, 2020.

References

External links

What is American About American Poetry?
essay by Shurin at the ''Poetry Society of America'' website
''Three Scenes from the Sauna at the YMCA''
a prose poetry piece by Shurin (2002) at '' Lodestar Quarterly''
''Narrativity''
This essay was first delivered by Shruin as a talk at '' Painted Bride'', Philadelphia, June 1989.
''Unbound: A book of AIDS''
a selection from this book on-line

Jeffrey Jullich on Aaron Shurin

at ''Electronic Poetry Review''

by Steve Silberman at ''

Poetry Flash ''Poetry Flash'' (founded 1972) is a literary magazine and website based in the San Francisco Bay Area; it has been called "an institution in the Bay Area's literary culture". It publishes literary reviews, poetry, interviews, and essays as well a ...

'', January 1990. Link includes an excerpt from ''A's Dream''

a review by Mark Mardon of Aaron Shurin's 'Involuntary Lyrics,' originally published in the Bay Area Reporter.'
"''The very first page is so strong it nearly took my head off...''"

Ron Silliman Ron Silliman (born August 5, 1946) is an American poet. He has written and edited over 30 books, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. He is often associated with language poetry. Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman w ...

on ''Involuntary Lyrics'' * – this page is a

smörgåsbord Smorgasbord or Smörgåsbord (, ) is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and mainly cold dishes. It assumed its present form in the 19th century, following old traditions. Smörgåsbord became known in the US ...

of links to Shurin readings from his work, including an interview with Shurin by Stacey Lewis in mp3 format, along with capsule reviews and comments about Shurin's work {{DEFAULTSORT:Shurin, Aaron Living people American male poets Writers from San Francisco New College of California alumni University of San Francisco faculty American LGBTQ poets 1947 births American gay writers 21st-century American LGBTQ people Gay poets