Simon Perchik (December 24, 1923 – June 14, 2022) was an American poet who has been described by
Library Journal
''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
as, "the most widely published unknown poet in America." Perchik worked as an attorney before his retirement in 1980. Educated at
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 ...
, he later resided in
East Hampton, New York. Best known for his highly personal, non-narrative style of poetry, Perchik's work has appeared in over 30 books, websites including Verse Daily,
Jacket
A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. Jackets without sleeves are vests. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and ...
and numerous print magazines, including ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', ''
Poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
'', ''
Partisan Review'', ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', ''
North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (''NAR'') was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale (journalist), Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which i ...
'', ''
Weave Magazine'', ''JuxtaProse Literary Magazine'', and ''
CLUTCH
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
''. His poetry collection, ''Hands Collected'' was longlisted for the
2000 National Book Award for Poetry.
On June 14, 2022, Perchik died surrounded by his family at the VA Hospital in New York City. He was 98.
Selected bibliography
* "Bomber's Moon" (1949, Self-published, written on a rented typewriter and printed on a rented mimeograph machine)
* "I Counted Only April" (1964, The Elizabeth Press)
* "Twenty Years of Hands" (1966, The Elizabeth Press)
* "Which Hand Holds The Brother" (1969, The Elizabeth Press)
* "Hands You Are Secretly Wearing" (1972, The Elizabeth Press)
* "Both Hands Screaming" (1975, The Elizabeth Press)
* "The Club Fits Either Hand" (1979, The Elizabeth Press)
* "Mr Lucky" (1984, Shearsman Books)
* "The Snowcat Poems 1980-81, To the Photographs of Robert Frank" (1984, Linwood Publishers)
* "Who Can Touch These Knots: New and Selected Poems" (1985, The Scarecrow Press)
* "The Gandolf Poems" (1988, White Pine Press)
* "Redeeming The Wings" (1991, Dusty Dog Press)
* "Birthmark" (1992, Flockophobic Press)
* "The Emptiness Between My Hands" (1993, Dusty Dog Press)
* "Letters to the Dead" (1993, St. Andrews College Press)
* "*" ("Shearsman 19") (1994, Shearsman Books)
* "These Hands Filled With Numbness" (1996, Dusty Dog Press)
* "Hands Collected 1949-1999" (2000, Pavement Saw Press) (Second Edition, 2003)
* "Touching the Headstone" (2000, Stride Publications)
* "The Autochthon Poems" (2001, Split/Shift)
* "Rafts" (2007, Parsifal Editions)
* "Almost Rain" (2013, River Otter Press)
* "D Poems" (2016, Penny University Press e-book)
* The Osiris Poems (2017, box of chalk)
* Dreams I’ve Held – Uncollected Poems (1943-1979) (2021, Cholla Needles)
* The Family Of Man Poems (1982–1990) (2021, Cholla Needles)
* The Weston Poems (1991–1994) (2021, Cholla Needles)
* Paper The Sun (1995–1996) (2021, Cholla Needles)
* Peel The Sun (1997–1998) (2021, Cholla Needles)
* The D Poems (2016) (2020, Cholla Needles - print version)
* The Reflection in a Glass Eye Poems (2018) (2020, Cholla Needles)
* The Gibson Poems (2019) (2019, Cholla Needles)
* The Rosenblum Poems (2020) (2020, Cholla Needles)
* The Elliott Erwitt Poems (2022) (2022, Cholla Needles)
References
Repositories
*
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
The Rare Book Collection
*
Simon Perchik Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
*
Ohio State University LibraryAvant Writing Collection
External links
Simon Perchik homepage*
ttp://herecomeseverybody.blogspot.com/2005/08/simon-perchik-is-attorney-whose-poems.html An Interview with Simon PerchikA poem by Simon Perchik
2 Recent Poems by Simon Perchik'Almost Rain' Product Page'D Poems', an electronic book download
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perchik, Simon
1923 births
2022 deaths
American male poets
People from East Hampton (town), New York
Poets from New York (state)
Writers from Paterson, New Jersey
Poets from New Jersey
New York University alumni
20th-century American poets
21st-century American poets
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Writers from New York (state)
American lawyers