Letter to the Editor of the Inquirer
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Death of Chris Bursk, Poet Laureate
Poets all over the Delaware Valley, not to mention the world over, are grieving the death of famous poet Christopher Bursk at 78. He won prestigious awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship and wrote an astounding number of books of imaginative poetry, including the The Improbable Swervings of Atoms, and he was praised by the New York Times.
A professor, a teacher, a human rights activist, he is survived by his wife, his children, his grandchildren and family members. Although I never took any of his classes, I would drive from my home in Willow Grove no matter how bad the weather; to listen to his readings at Bucks County Community College, which he made his college.
Standing behind the podium, this unaffected man with his John Lennon glasses and hair like a haystack, Bursk filled the auditorium. We cheered, we thrilled, we all wanted to be like him.
I think of him when I look out the window at the furious rains in this chaotic world of ours. His poetry brought it to order. When I look outside I see the fireflies blinking on and off, on and off.
Peace, good man, the helper of all poets. He died on June 21, in Langhorne, PA.
No comments:
Post a Comment