Donald Finkel
Encyclopedia
Donald Alexander Finkel was an American
poet best known for his unorthodox styles and "curious juxtapositions".
, and aspired to be a sculptor as a youth. He attended the University of Chicago
, only to be expelled for smoking marijuana. Finkel attended Columbia University
, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1952. He earned a master's degree in English from Columbia in 1953.
He taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
at the University of Iowa
and at Bard College
in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
, prior to accepting a faculty position at Washington University in St. Louis
in 1960. He taught at Washington University until 1961, and was poet-in-residence emeritus there until his death. Mr. Finkel’s wife, Constance Urdang, a novelist and poet, died in 1996. In addition to his son, Tom, of St. Louis, he is survived by two daughters, Liza Finkel of Portland, Ore., and Amy Finkel of St. Louis; a half-brother, David Finkel of Manhattan; and two grandchildren.
Finkel was sent to Antarctica in 1968, as part of a scientific expedition sponsored by the National Science Foundation
to send artists to Antarctica. The subject appeared in his 1978 book, Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll.
Finkel's wrote his poetry in free verse, juxtaposing different subjects against each other. Some of his poetry was extremely lengthy, with single pieces filling a volume. Finkel strayed from abstraction and used common language in his writing. He would interlace his poetry with sections taken from a wide range of works, including the writings of authors including Lenny Bruce
, Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd
, Albert Camus
and Franz Kafka
to create what The New York Times
described as a "multilayered, sculptural bricolage
through which Mr. Finkel expanded the reader's sense of what was possible in the genre." Some of Finkel's best-known poems include his 1968 work Answer Back about Mammoth Cave, Adequate Earth a 1972 book of poems about Antarctica, and his 1987 work The Wake of the Electron which was inspired by the story of sailor Donald Crowhurst
, who died in 1969 while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
.
The 14 books of poetry and other works he published include Simeon (1964), A Joyful Noise (1966), The Garbage Wars (1970), A Mote in Heaven’s Eye (1975), Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll (1978), Going Under (1978), What Manner of Beast (1981) and Not So the Chairs: Selected and New Poems (2003). He translated A Splintered Mirror: Chinese Poetry From the Democracy Movement with Carolyn Kizer
, which was published in 1991.
“The Invention of Meaning”
In the beginning was the hand
and the poem of the hand,
a breathless trope, a floating hieroglyph,
seamless as water.
Then the hand spoke, and the hand said
“Let there be meaning,” and the meaning sang:
“Let there be love,” and the hand
shaped itself another hand of clay.
Now, where there had been
but one meaning, there were two.
So the hands wrestled all night
till they saw it was pointless.
So together they shaped themselves
a cunning tongue, to arbitrate.
Now, where there had been two meanings,
there were three.
And the hands wrung one another,
abashed, and the tongue took over.
–Donald Finkel
From: Natural Bridge
He died at age 79 on November 15, 2008 at his home in St. Louis, Missouri
of complications of Alzheimer's disease
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet best known for his unorthodox styles and "curious juxtapositions".
Life
Finkel was born in New York City on October 21, 1929. He grew up in the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, and aspired to be a sculptor as a youth. He attended the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, only to be expelled for smoking marijuana. Finkel attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1952. He earned a master's degree in English from Columbia in 1953.
He taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
and at Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Annandale-on-Hudson is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, USA, in the Hudson Valley in the town of Red Hook, across the Hudson River from Kingston....
, prior to accepting a faculty position at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
in 1960. He taught at Washington University until 1961, and was poet-in-residence emeritus there until his death. Mr. Finkel’s wife, Constance Urdang, a novelist and poet, died in 1996. In addition to his son, Tom, of St. Louis, he is survived by two daughters, Liza Finkel of Portland, Ore., and Amy Finkel of St. Louis; a half-brother, David Finkel of Manhattan; and two grandchildren.
Poetry
De Witt Bell, in a 1964 review, called Finkel's work Simeon, "a book of great élan, robust in world view and vigorous in style. Both the poet and the poems seems to be enjoying themselves."Finkel was sent to Antarctica in 1968, as part of a scientific expedition sponsored by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
to send artists to Antarctica. The subject appeared in his 1978 book, Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll.
Finkel's wrote his poetry in free verse, juxtaposing different subjects against each other. Some of his poetry was extremely lengthy, with single pieces filling a volume. Finkel strayed from abstraction and used common language in his writing. He would interlace his poetry with sections taken from a wide range of works, including the writings of authors including Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
, Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd
Richard Evelyn Byrd
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
, Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
and Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
to create what The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described as a "multilayered, sculptural bricolage
Bricolage
Bricolage is a term used in several disciplines, among them the visual arts, to refer to the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process...
through which Mr. Finkel expanded the reader's sense of what was possible in the genre." Some of Finkel's best-known poems include his 1968 work Answer Back about Mammoth Cave, Adequate Earth a 1972 book of poems about Antarctica, and his 1987 work The Wake of the Electron which was inspired by the story of sailor Donald Crowhurst
Donald Crowhurst
Donald Crowhurst was a British businessman and amateur sailor who died while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Crowhurst had entered the race in hopes of winning a cash prize from The Sunday Times to aid his failing business...
, who died in 1969 while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race...
.
The 14 books of poetry and other works he published include Simeon (1964), A Joyful Noise (1966), The Garbage Wars (1970), A Mote in Heaven’s Eye (1975), Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll (1978), Going Under (1978), What Manner of Beast (1981) and Not So the Chairs: Selected and New Poems (2003). He translated A Splintered Mirror: Chinese Poetry From the Democracy Movement with Carolyn Kizer
Carolyn Kizer
Carolyn Ashley Kizer is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet of the Pacific Northwest whose works reflect her feminism.-Life and work:...
, which was published in 1991.
“The Invention of Meaning”
In the beginning was the hand
and the poem of the hand,
a breathless trope, a floating hieroglyph,
seamless as water.
Then the hand spoke, and the hand said
“Let there be meaning,” and the meaning sang:
“Let there be love,” and the hand
shaped itself another hand of clay.
Now, where there had been
but one meaning, there were two.
So the hands wrestled all night
till they saw it was pointless.
So together they shaped themselves
a cunning tongue, to arbitrate.
Now, where there had been two meanings,
there were three.
And the hands wrung one another,
abashed, and the tongue took over.
–Donald Finkel
From: Natural Bridge
Sculpture and death
Before his death, Finkel returned to sculpture, creating pieces from buttons, bottles and other found objects, in a process he called "dreckolage".He died at age 79 on November 15, 2008 at his home in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
of complications of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.