Stanley Kunitz

Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz spoke to poet Grace Cavalieri for the Library of Congress’ Poet and the Poem program in 2000. He recited poems, and discussed the sorrows of his childhood, the emotions expressed in his poetry, and his influence on young poets.

Asked how students can be taught to write emotionally powerful poems, he said, “I don’t think that most children are exposed to teachers who understand the sources and the power of poetry for the human spirit. And one of the things that I would like to accomplish in my new role as Poet Laureate is to do whatever I can to bring into the school system an understanding of the power of the spoken word and the release that it gives to the pent-up feelings of a child who is exposed to so much and has not yet formulated an adequate language to express what he needs to say in order to feel whole.”

Additional Interviews With Stanley Kunitz
Kunitz discussed the art of poetry in a 1982 interview with Chris Busa of The Paris Review.

Kunitz conducted an oral history interview with Avis Berman for the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art in December 1983 and March 1984.

To learn more about Stanley Kunitz, read his profile on findingDulcinea.