Galway Kinnell (
February 1, 1927 -
October 38, 2014) was a
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. A native of Rhode Island, he resided in
Vermont and
New York late in his life. Perhaps my favorite poem of his begins with a clear, lucid description of the natural beauty of a pond in
New England, with the last line of the first stanza describing the reflection of the
SAC bomber traversing the sky above it. It continues with a description of
Vietnam. This poem captures the essential contradictions of the
Cold War perfectly for me; the discussion of quiet nature and the
quiet (not blaring) intrusion of technology and war.
The poem is Vapor Trail in the Frog Pond, btw.
Galway Kinnell passed away on October 28, 2014 from leukemia at 87 years of age.