Clemens Starck
American poet (1937–2024)
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Clemens Starck (November 30, 1937– March 21, 2024)[1] was an American poet.
Clemens Starck | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | November 30, 1937 |
| Died | March 21, 2024 (aged 86) |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable awards | Oregon Book Award (1996) |
He is the author of seven books of poems, and recipient of the 1996 William Stafford Memorial Poetry Award[2] and the Oregon Book Award for Journeyman's Wages. Two of his other books were also finalists for the Oregon Book Award.[3]
Several of his poems, including "One of the Locals", were read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac.[4] A chapter dedicated to Starck's poetry, “Clemens Starck: ‘poems in my head, a hammer in my hand,” is within Durable Goods: Appreciations of Oregon Poets,[5] written by Erik Muller and published by Mountains & Rivers Press in 2017.
Jon Broderick, founder of the annual FisherPoets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon, cites Starck as the inspiration for the festival. "Clem wrote poetry about work. I had never considered doing that. I immediately thought about the fishermen I knew who wrote, and decided to get a few people together to give it a try."[6]
In 2018, Empty Bowl a small independent Pacific Northwest press, initiated a new series focused on collected and selected poems from Pacific Northwest writers. The series was launched with Finn Wilcox's Too Late to Turn Back Now: Prose and Poems. Starck's Cathedrals and Parking Lots: Collected Poems is the second book in this series.[7]
Death
He died, age 86, on March 21, 2024.[8]
Works
Poetry
- Journeyman’s Wages (Story Line Press, 1995)
- Studying Russian on Company Time (Silverfish Review Press, 1999)
- China Basin (Story Line Press, 2002)
- Traveling Incognito (Wood Works, 2004)
- Rembrandt, Chainsaw (Wood Works, 2011)
- Old Dogs, New Tricks (Oblio, 2016)
- Cathedrals and Parking Lots: Collected Poems (Empty Bowl, November 2018)
Audio CDs
- Looking for Parts (2008)
- Getting It Straight (2013)
Selected anthologies
- Good Poems for Hard Times, ed. Keillor (Penguin, 2006)
- From Here We Speak: An Anthology of Oregon Poetry, ed. St. John (Oregon State University Press, 1993)
- Where is Vietnam? American Poets Respond, ed. Lowenfels (Doubleday Anchor, 1967)
- Poetry Daily: 366 Poems from the World’s Most Popular Poetry Website, eds. Boller and Selby (Sourcebooks, 2003)
- Paperwork: Contemporary Poems from the Job, ed. Wayman (Harbour, 1991)
