When poet Mark Strand took a post at the University of Utah in 1981, his plan was to get away from the bustle and pressure of New York, lie back in the West and write.
Now he'll be bustling east again.At least for a while.
Strand has been named the 1990-91 poet laureate consultant in poetry at the Library of Congress. He follows in the footsteps of former laureates Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wilbur and, recently, Howard Nemerov. The Library of Congress position was created 54 years ago. A law in 1985 made the post equivalent to poet laureate of the United States.
Over the years Strand has written poetry, fiction and non-fiction. When he first arrived in Utah he was viewed as a young "star quality" poet. Now, nine years later, he's become one of the fathers of the new generation of writers. He's gone from prince of language to patriarch.
"We are pleased that a poet of the versatility and inventiveness of Mark Strand will bring his creativity and energy to the position," said James H. Billington, librarian of Congress.
Determined and ambitious, Strand has scored some incredible coups for the University of Utah. His getting Joseph Brodsky for the Tanner Lecture coincided with Brodsky winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. The lecture may have been the local literary event of the '80s. Strand has also brought a parade of outstanding poets to the state, including Derek Walcott and Richard Howard.
In honesty, it must be said Strand's strong-willed style has caused a stir at times. His refusal to allow a campus reading by poet William Stafford, a man who once held the post Strand will be assuming, created a rift. And the poet's penchant for speaking his mind about everything from the quality of local restaurants and bookstores to what he considers failures of local arts organizations has caused friction.
Yet honesty also demands he be given high marks for an expanding generosity and talent, both in his work and in the community. More and more, it seems, his once pugnacious style gives way to larger gestures.
"Mark Strand has been an important figure in American poetry and American letters for decades," said Katharine Coles of the Utah Arts Council. "But it may be his recent poems, the ones he has written since he came to Utah, that will establish his majority. They have an expansiveness and generosity that don't appear in his earlier work.
"I can't credit Utah with this turn, but I know Mark loves this landscape, which inhabits the newer poems, and he also seems committed to the community here. He's donated time to local writing organizations, and he's helped make the Utah writing community more visible. This honor is wonderful for Mark and he deserves it. It's also wonderful for Utah."