Charles Simic

Belgrade, Yugoslavia, May 9 1938. Charles Simic - poet, writer, editor, teacher and translator - was born. His father, in 1953, moved to New York City to escape the violence of World War II, and in 1954, Charles (with his mother and brother) followed. The family lived in the Chicago area until 1958, and Simic's first poems were published in 1959 (at age 21).

By 1961, Charles Simic had been drafted into the United States Army, however, by 1966 he had managed to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University. Having gained this accolade, Simic became an editorial assistant for Aperture (a photography magazine) from 1966-1969.

What the Grass Says (his first full-length collection of poems) was published in 1967, and since then, Simic has been writing prolifically, as he has published (both in the States and internationally) over sixty books! More notable books by Simic include:

• Jackstraws (1999), named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times
• Walking the Black Cat (1996), National Book Award in poetry (finalist)
• A Wedding in Hell (1994)
• Hotel Insomnia (1992)
• The World Doesn't End: Prose Poems (1990), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Selected Poems: 1963-1983 (1990)

and

• Unending Blues (1986)

Charles Simic did a lot of teaching at various American institutions (including the University of New Hampshire, where he is still the Professor of English), and was known for writing surreal and stirring poetry (including The Book of Gods and Devils (1990).

Working as a translator, Charles Simic has published translations of poetry books in the following languages - French, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian and Slovenian. He is also an essay writer, and has published four books of essays (the most recent of these being Orphan Factory (1998)).

Other honours, accolades and occupations of Charles Simic include:

• Guest editor of The Best American Poetry 1992
• Elected the Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets in 2000 (he still holds this position)
• Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
• Fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation
• Fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation

Charles Simic still lives in New Hampshire, and has since 1973.

Thanks to biography.com and poets.org for the information. Completed on behalf of the CRT :)