Charles Simic (1938–2023,) originally Dušan Simic, was a Serbian-American poet, essayist, and translator. This co-poetry editor of the Paris Review was the fifteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress 2007–08.
Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Simic grew up in war-torn Yugoslavia. At sixteen, he immigrated to the United States with his family and settled in Chicago. Simic attended New York University, receiving a Bachelor’s degree 1961, and a Master’s 1966. He was an editorial assistant at Aperture magazine and a book reviewer for The New York Times.
Simic translated works by Serbian poets such as Vasko Popa and Novica Tadic into English and wrote on such diverse topics as jazz, art, and philosophy. He taught American literature and creative writing at the University of New Hampshire beginning since 1973.
Simic published numerous books of poetry, including The World Doesn’t End (1989; Pulitzer for Poetry) and Walking the Black Cat (1996; finalist for the National Book Award.) He also published several collections of essays, including The Unemployed Fortune-Teller: Essays and Memoirs (1994) and Orsphan Factory: Essays and Memoirs (1997.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Charles Simic
Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships.
—Charles Simic
Topics: Light, Leadership, Imagination, Perspective
Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.
—Charles Simic
Topics: Poetry
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