Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; May 9, 1938 – January 9, 2023), known as Charles Simic, was a

Serbian American Serbian Americans () or American Serbs (), are Americans of ethnic Serb ancestry. As of 2023, there were slightly more than 181,000 American citizens who identified as having Serb ancestry. However, the number may be significantly higher, as ...

poet and poetry co-editor of ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

''. He received the

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award came five years after the first Pulitzers were awarded in other categories; Joseph Pulitzer's will had not ment ...

in 1990 for ''

The World Doesn't End ''The World Doesn't End'' (1989) is a collection of prose poems by Charles Simic. The collection won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990. Contents The collection begins with an epigraph from Fats Waller: "Let's waltz the Rumba." The collec ...

'' and was a finalist of the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for ''Selected Poems, 1963–1983'' and in 1987 for ''Unending Blues''. He was appointed the fifteenth

United States Poet Laureate The poet laureate consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, commonly referred to as the United States poet laureate, serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national consc ...

in 2007.

Biography

Early years

Dušan Simić was born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In his early childhood, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he and his family were forced to evacuate their home several times to escape indiscriminate bombing of Belgrade. Growing up as a child in war-torn Europe shaped much of his worldview, Simic stated. In an interview from the '' Cortland Review'' he said, "Being one of the millions of displaced persons made an impression on me. In addition to my own little story of bad luck, I heard plenty of others. I'm still amazed by all the vileness and stupidity I witnessed in my life." Simic immigrated to the United States with his brother and mother to join his father in 1954, when he was sixteen. After spending a year in New York, he moved with his family to

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

, where he graduated from high school. In 1961, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and in 1966, he earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

while working at night to cover the costs of tuition.

Career

Simic began to make a name for himself in the early to mid-1970s as a literary minimalist, writing terse, imagistic poems. Critics have referred to Simic's poems as "tightly constructed Chinese puzzle boxes". He himself stated: "Words make love on the page like flies in the summer heat and the poet is merely the bemused spectator." He was a professor of American literature and creative writing at

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

beginning in 1973 and lived in Strafford,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Simic wrote on such diverse topics as jazz, art, and philosophy. He was influenced by

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 ...

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

, and

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

. He was a translator, essayist, and philosopher, opining on the current state of contemporary American poetry. He held the position of poetry editor of ''

'' and was later replaced by

Dan Chiasson Dan Chiasson (; born May 9, 1971) is an American poet, critic, and journalist. The ''Sewanee Review'' called Chiasson "the country's most visible poet-critic." He is the Lorraine Chao Wang Professor of English Literature and Chair of the English ...

. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

in 1995, received the Academy Fellowship in 1998, and was elected a chancellor of the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outrea ...

in 2000. Simic was one of the judges for the 2007

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is a Canadian poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. I ...

and continued to contribute poetry and prose to ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

''. He received the US$100,000

Wallace Stevens Award The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

in 2007 from the

. Simic was selected by

James H. Billington James Hadley Billington (June 1, 1929 – November 20, 2018) was an American academic and author who taught history at Harvard and Princeton before serving for 42 years as CEO of four federal cultural institutions. He served as the 13th Librarian ...

, Librarian of Congress, to be the fifteenth

, succeeding

Donald Hall Donald Andrew Hall Jr. (September 20, 1928 – June 23, 2018) was an American poet, writer, editor, and literary critic. He was the author of more than 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and inc ...

. In choosing Simic as the poet laureate, Billington cited "the rather stunning and original quality of his poetry". In 2011, Simic was the recipient of the

Frost Medal Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is similar ...

, presented annually for "lifetime achievement in poetry". Simic's extensive papers as well as other material about his work are held at the

Library Milne Special Collections and Archives.

Personal life and death

Simic married fashion designer Helene Dubin in 1964, and their union produced two children. In 1971, he became an American citizen. Simic died of complications of

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

on January 9, 2023, at age 84.

Awards

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

(1980) *

Ingram Merrill Foundation The Ingram Merrill Foundation was a private foundation established in the mid-1950s by poet James Merrill (1926-1995), using funds from his substantial family inheritance.J. D. McClatchyBraving the Elements ''The New Yorker'', 27 March 1995. Retriev ...

Fellowship (1983) *

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

(1984–1989) * Pulitzer Prize finalist (1986) * Pulitzer Prize finalist (1987) *

(1990) *

(2007) *

(2011) * Vilcek Prize in Literature (2011) *

Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award The Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award (Polish: ''Międzynarodowa Nagroda Literacka im. Zbigniewa Herberta'') is a Polish international literary award, literature prize established in 2013 in Warsaw and named after a Polish poet, essa ...

(2014) * Golden Wreath of the

Struga Poetry Evenings Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) (, СВП; tr. ''Struški večeri na poezijata'', ''SVP'') is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, North Macedonia. During the several decades of its existence, the Festival has awarded its most ...

(2017)

Bibliography

Poetry

;Collections * 1967: * 1969: * 1971: ''Dismantling the Silence'' * 1972: ''White'' * 1974: ''Return to a Place Lit by a Glass of Milk'' * 1976: ''Biography and a Lament'' * 1977: ''Charon's Cosmology'' * 1978: ''Brooms: Selected Poems'' * 1978: ''School for Dark Thoughts'' * 1980: ''They Forage at Night'' * 1980: ''Classic Ballroom Dances'' * 1982: ''Austerities'' * 1983: ''Weather Forecast for Utopia & Vicinity: Poems, 1967–1982'' * 1985: ''Selected Poems, 1963–1983'' (1986 Pulitzer Prize finalist) * 1986: ''Unending Blues'' (1987 Pulitzer Prize finalist) * 1989: ''Pyramids and Sphinxes'' * 1989: ''Nine Poems'' * 1989: '' The World Doesn't End: Prose Poems'' (1990

) * 1990: ''The Book of Gods and Devils'' * 1992: ''Hotel Insomnia'' * 1994: ''A Wedding in Hell: Poems'' * 1995: ''Frightening Toys'' * 1996: ''Walking the Black Cat: Poems'', (National Book Award in Poetry finalist) * 1997: * 1999: ''Jackstraws: Poems'' ( ''The New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year) * 1999: * 2001: ''Night Picnic'', * 2003: ''The Voice at 3:00 am: Selected Late and New Poems'' * 2004: ''Selected Poems: 1963–2003'' (winner of the 2005 International

) * 2005: ''Aunt Lettuce, I Want to Peek Under Your Skirt'' (illustrated by Howie Michels) * 2005: ''My Noiseless Entourage: Poems'' * 2008: ''60 Poems'', * 2008: ''That Little Something: Poems'' * 2008: ''The Monster Loves His Labyrinth: Notebooks'', * 2010: * 2013: * 2013: * 2015: * 2017: * 2019: * 2022: ;Translations * 1970: Ivan V. Lalić, ''Fire Gardens'' * 1970:

Vasko Popa Vasile "Vasko" Popa ( sr-Cyrl, Васко Попа; 29 June 1922 – 5 January 1991) was a Yugoslav and Serbian poet of Romanian ethnicity. Biography Popa was born in the village of Grebenac (), Yugoslavia (present-day Serbia) into a Banat ...

, ''The Little Box: Poems'' * 1970: ''Four Modern Yugoslav Poets: Ivan V. Lalić, Branko Miljkovic,

Milorad Pavić Milorad Pavić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад Павић, ; 15 October 1929 – 30 November 2009) was a Serbian writer, university professor, translator, literary historian and academic. Born in Belgrade in 1929, he published a number of poems, ...

, Ljubomir Simović'' * 1979:

, ''Homage to the Lame Wolf: Selected Poems'' * 1983: Co-translator, Slavko Mihalić, ''Atlantis'' * 1987:

Tomaž Šalamun Tomaž Šalamun (July 4, 1941 – December 27, 2014) was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central EuropeColm Tóibín (2004The comet's trail The Guardian, Guardian and an internationally acclaimed Absu ...

, ''Selected Poems'' * 1987: Ivan V. Lalić, ''Roll Call of Mirrors'' * 1989: Aleksandar Ristović, ''Some Other Wine or Light'' * 1991:

Slavko Janevski Slavko Janevski (January 11, 1920 – January 20, 2000) was a Macedonian poet, prose and script writer. He was also active as a comics artist.Tomislav Osmanli„Razvojot na stripot vo Makedonija – sedum decenii stripovno tvoreštvo“ ''Strip ...

, ''Bandit Wind'' * 1992:

Novica Tadić Novica Tadić ( Smriječno, Plužine, 17 July 1949 – Belgrade, 23 January 2011) was a Serbian poet. Biography He was born in a small village in Montenegro and spent most of his life in Belgrade. His work was supported by many United States poet ...

, ''Night Mail: Selected Poems'' * 1992: ''Horse Has Six Legs: Contemporary Serbian Poetry'' * 1999: Aleksandar Ristović, ''Devil's Lunch'' * 2003: Radmila Lazić, ''A Wake for the Living'' * 2004:

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...

, ''The Günter Grass Reader'' * 2019:

, Selected Poems ;List of poems

Non-fiction

* 1985: ''The Uncertain Certainty: Interviews, Essays, and Notes on Poetry'' * 1990: ''Wonderful Words, Silent Truth: Essays on Poetry and a Memoir'' * 1992: ''Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and filmmaker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmma ...

'' * 1994: ''The Unemployed Fortune-Teller: Essays and Memoirs'' * 1997: ''Orphan Factory: Essays and Memoirs'' * 2000: ''A Fly in the Soup: Memoirs'' * 2003: ''The Metaphysician in the Dark'' (University of Michigan Press, Poets on Poetry Series) * 2006: * 2008: ''The Renegade: Writings on Poetry and a Few Other Things'' * 2015: ''The Life of Images: Selected Prose''

References

External links

Profiles

Profile and poems of Charles Simic, including audio files
at the Poetry Foundation.
Profile and poems written and audio at Poetry Archivepoets.org biography, poems written and audioGriffin Poetry Prize biography and video clipHossack, Irene. "Charles Simic".
The Literary Encyclopedia; first published May 4, 2006.

Work

Charles Simic Poetry
published in Issue Three and Issue Four of The Coffin Factory
Charles Simic Online Resources, Library of CongressAudio recording (.mp3) of Charles Simic reading at the Key West Literary Seminar, 2003
in ''

The Cafe Irreal ''The Cafe Irreal'' is an Internet journal dedicated to the publication and propagation of irrealist literature. History and profile Online since 1998, it has published a number of notable authors whose work sometimes fits into this non-realist ...

'' Issue 13, February 1, 2005
Simic reading from a collection of his own works
(Audio, 14 mins)
Video of Charles Simic reading at Boston University's Robert Lowell Memorial Lecture, 2009
(60 mins)
php? collection/Audio recording 40 Charles Simic Poems read by Thomas Boeck at Voetica.comSimic author page and article archive
from ''

Interviews and review

*
Poetry featured in ''The Coffin Factory'' issues 3 and 4
(August 1998)
"Charles Simic: The Orphan Of Silence"; Doctoral thesis by Goran Mijuk
February 1, 2002
An Interview with Charles Simic
by

Dejan Stojanović Dejan Stojanović ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Стојановић, ; born 11 March 1959) is a Serbian American poet, writer, essayist, philosopher, businessman, and former journalist. His poetry is characterized by a recognizable system of thought, an ...

''Serbian Magazine'', August 9–23, 1991 (No. 89)
SESSIONS: Confessions of a Poet Laureate
shorts.nthword.com, April 18, 2011
2008 ''Bomb Magazine'' discussion between Charles Simic & Tomaž Šalamun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simic, Charles 1938 births 2023 deaths American male poets American poets laureate MacArthur Fellows Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Naturalized citizens of the United States Poets from New Hampshire Writers from Oak Park, Illinois Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Serbian male poets American people of Serbian descent The New Yorker people Translators to English People from Strafford, New Hampshire Poets from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Military personnel from New Hampshire United States Army soldiers Writers from Belgrade Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates University of New Hampshire faculty Deaths from dementia in New Hampshire