At a young age Charles Simic realized that life was soupy, slurpy and, well, just plain messy. Writing poetry can be messy, too. "I don't have a recipe," he says. Each poem is a struggle with endless revisions and tinkerings. "I don't know where the next poem is going to come from—a bit of language, an image, a mood, a recalled experience. Something sets off a train of associations and the poem begins."
The Library of Congress knows the power of the poet and honors some of the best as Poet Laureate. Celebrated poet Charles Simic is the latest in a line of distinguished writers to serve in this capacity. The Epoch Times recently spoke with Mr. Simic about what inspires him to poetic excellence.
Growing up in Europe during WWII, Mr. Simic was forced to flee to France with his mother from his native Yugoslavia. As a young teen he arrived in America to live with his father. He started writing poetry then and hasn't stopped since.
The poet responded to The Washington Post's description of writing poetry as "hey-it-ain't-rocket-science" but also understands that hey-it-ain't-so-easy, either. "I never had the experience of getting an idea and then doing a poem."
Winning a salad bowl of literary prizes hasn't given him a big head. He and his wife still live in a quiet corner of New Hampshire—also home to his predecessor, Donald Hall. He recently retired from teaching at the University of New Hampshire. The professor emeritus of literature and creative writing makes occasional forays into the big city—otherwise known as New York—but finds the country the best inspiration for his life's work. In speaking with The Guardian, he jokes that he is a "city poet" who has "lived in cities all my life, except for the last 35 years."
Mr. Simic writes accessible poems, simple on the surface but complex the more you dig. He follows in the footsteps of fellow New Englander Robert Frost. Frost's poem "Stopping By Woods" has produced more commentary than any other. Writing poetry is a kind of obsession with a deep need to get it right. "It's like anything else in art, you want to get better at it," Mr. Simic said
The poet composes poems about the human tragedy and has not forgotten the suffering he witnessed as a boy. "The world continues to be a violent and stupid place. There are poets who write about birds singing. I never forget about people being bombed."
His memoir, "Fly in the Soup" takes the reader up to the poet's 23rd birthday, covering a dangerous time in a dangerous place. The title alludes to history as a great soup. The memoir came about with a request first from his German publisher, then later from a reference publisher, asking for bits and pieces—cooking, movies. "My German publisher had this idea to combine all these pieces chronologically—"to string them together." The memoir found an audience in Germany and his American publisher reissued it.
He sometimes reviews for the Paris Review. Mr. Simic prefers poems that are "more experimental, much more daring, complicated." From his teaching experience, he learned there are many ways of writing a good poem.
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—the official title—serves as "the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans." Like Mr. Simic, some of those so honored claim New Hampshire as home—Robert Frost, Maxine Kumin, and his immediate predecessor, Donald Hall.
Mr. Simic was officially installed in September as Poet Laureate, which he calls "an honor, not a job." Other than opening the Library of Congress's fall literary season on October 18 and introducing a poetry reading at the Library in December, he hasn't decided what, if any, activities he'll engage in during his term.
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