Charles Simic: Online Resources

On August 2, 2007, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the appointment of Charles Simic to be the 15th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. On making the appointment, Billington said, "The range of Charles Simic’s imagination is evident in his stunning and unusual imagery. He handles language with the skill of a master craftsman, yet his poems are easily accessible, often meditative and surprising. He has given us a rich body of highly organized poetry with shades of darkness and flashes of ironic humor."

Simic served one term as poet laureate, finishing his duties in spring 2008.This guide compiles links to resources on Charles Simic throughout the Library of Congress Web site, as well as links to external Web sites that include features on Simic’s life or selections of his work.

Resources

Library of Congress Web Site
   •Biographical Information, Poetry
   •Press Releases
   •Audio and Video
   •Print Resources
External Web Sites
   •Biographical Information, Poetry
   •Interviews, Articles, and Conversations
   •Audio and Video Recordings
   •Criticism
   •Reviews
   •Charles Simic in the News

Library of Congress Web Site | External Web Sites

Library of Congress Web Site

Biographical Information, Poetry

Biography of Charles Simic from the Poetry & Literature Center

Profile of Simic in the Wise Guide

Text of Charles Simic's poem "In the Library"

Press Releases

Official press release announcing Charles Simic's appointment as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry

Audio and Video

Podcast (September 4, 2007) (29:29)

2007 National Book Festival Webcast (52:51)

Poet and the Poem Audio Webcast (Direct link; 56:00)

Print Resources

Works by Charles Simic in the Library of Congress online catalog can be found under the following author heading:

Simic, Charles, 1938-

Works about Charles Simic can be found in the Library of Congress online catalog under the following subject headings:

Simic, Charles, 1938-
Simic, Charles, 1938- Aesthetics.
Simic, Charles, 1938- Authorship.
Simic, Charles, 1938- Criticism and interpretation.
Simic, Charles, 1938- Interviews.
Simic, Charles, 1938- Musical settings.

External Web Sites

(Some links open RealAudio files. Download a free version of RealPlayer software.)

Biographical Information, Poetry

Academy of American Poets
A biography of Charles Simic, samples of his poetry and prose, and links to external resources.

Griffin Poetry Prize 2005
A biography of Charles Simic, samples of his poetry, and audio and video clips of Simic reading his poetry.

Poetry Archive
A biography of Charles Simic accompanied by audio recordings of Simic reading several poems.

Poetry Foundation
A biography of Charles Simic, bibliography of his writings, selected bibliography of material about the poet, and links to several poems.

Interviews, Articles, and Conversations

(Download the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF documents.)

"Back to Poetry, After a Year Promoting It"
Concord Monitor, July 27, 2008

"A Poet Who Deserves His Laurels"
By Jay Parini, Guardian Unlimited: Arts Blog, August 6, 2007

"More Than a Laureate"
By Adam Kirsch, New York Sun, August 6, 2007

The Paris Review
Interviewed by Mark Ford, Issue 173, Spring 2005

The Bloomsbury Review (PDF: 84KB)
Interviewed by Ray Gonzalez, v. 22, no. 2, 2002

The Cortland Review
Interviewed by J.M. Spalding, August 1998

Artful Dodge
Conversation at Memphis State University, River City Writer's Series, March 16, 1993

Audio and Video Recordings

Video

Charles Simic: How a Lost Pearl Became a . . . (09:49)
Open Book, Slate V, December 2008

Radio and Television Programs

Simic Reflects On Poet Laureate Honor (07:02)
Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, August 5, 2007

UNH Authors' Series: Poet Charles Simic (27:12)
New Hampshire Outlook, April 4, 2006

The Voice at 3:00 a.m. (29:59)
New Hampshire Public Radio, November 2, 2003

Charles Simic (47:50)
The Connection, NPR, May 19, 2003

Charles Simic (17:35)
The Leonard Lopate Show, April 24, 2003

Other Audio

2008 Virginia Festival of the Book
Charles Simic reads with Charles Wright (1:08:00)

Charles Simic, Thomas Lynch, Anthony Hopkins
Bob Edwards Weekend, August 2007

Charles Simic (Direct link; 15:28)
Poetry Foundation Podcast, May 1, 2007

Lannan Readings and Conversations
Charles Simic with David Lehman, March 14, 2007 (1:13:59)

Charles Simic: 2003 (07:32)
Key West Literary Seminar, 2003

The Cortland Review
Charles Simic reads "Leaving an Unknown City" (00:40)

Criticism

"Charles Simic's Insomnia: Presence, Emptiness, and the Secular Divine" (PDF: 88KB)
J. Heath Atchley, Literature and Thelogy, v. 17, no. 1, March 2003

eNotes.com
Critical information on Simic from Thomson Gale's Contemporary Literary Criticism series

Orphan of Silence: The Poetry of Charles Simic (PDF: 855KB)
Goran Mijul, doctoral dissertation, Faculty of Letters, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, 2002

"Responsible viewing: Charles Simic's Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell"
Daniel Morris, Papers on Language and Literature, Fall 1998

Reviews

My Noiseless Entourage (2005)

One Poet's Notes

The Voice at 3:00 a.m.: Selected Late and New Poems (2003)

Boston Review

Jackstraws (1999)

The American Poetry Review

Boston Review

Charles Simic in the News

Google News search on Charles Simic

Blog entries on Charles Simic, via Technorati

Simic on your bookshelf: Charles Simic on LibraryThing