Editing Charles Simic (section)

==Biography==

===Early years===
Dušan Simić was born in [[Belgrade]]. In his early childhood, during [[World War II]], he and his family were forced to evacuate their home several times to escape indiscriminate bombing of Belgrade. Growing up as a child in war-torn Europe shaped much of his worldview, Simic stated. In an interview from the ''[[Cortland Review]]'' he said, "Being one of the millions of displaced persons made an impression on me. In addition to my own little story of bad luck, I heard plenty of others. I'm still amazed by all the vileness and stupidity I witnessed in my life."<ref>[http://www.cortlandreview.com/issuefour/interview4.htm Charles Simic profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408193340/http://www.cortlandreview.com/issuefour/interview4.htm |date=April 8, 2017 }}, CortlandReview.com. Retrieved April 21, 2017.</ref>

Simic immigrated to the United States with his brother and mother to join his father in 1954, when he was sixteen. After spending a year in New York, he moved with his family to [[Oak Park, Illinois]], where he graduated from high school.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Govea |first=Javier |date=2023-01-10 |title=Charles Simic, 84 |url=https://www.oakpark.com/2023/01/10/charles-simic-84/ |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=Oak Park |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1961, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and in 1966, he earned his [[Bachelors of Arts|B.A.]] from [[New York University]] while working at night to cover the costs of tuition.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Charles Simic |url=https://poets.org/poet/charles-simic |access-date=2024-09-03 |work=Academy of American Poets |language=en}}</ref>

===Career===
Simic began to make a name for himself in the early to mid-1970s as a literary minimalist, writing terse, imagistic poems.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rodriguez|first=J. Matos|title=Unmothered Americas: Poetry and Universality (On Charles Simic, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Giannina Braschi|publisher=Columbia University Academic Commons|year=2005|location=New York}}</ref> Critics have referred to Simic's poems as "tightly constructed Chinese puzzle boxes". He himself stated: "Words make love on the page like flies in the summer heat and the poet is merely the bemused spectator."<ref>Simic, Charles (ed.) (1992) ''The Best American Poetry 1992'', Charles Scribner's Sons p xv {{ISBN|978-0-684-19501-8}}</ref>

He was a professor of American literature and creative writing at [[University of New Hampshire]] beginning in 1973<ref>{{Cite news |last=Garner |first=Dwight |date=2023-01-09 |title=Charles Simic, Pulitzer-Winning Poet and U.S. Laureate, Dies at 84 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/books/charles-simic-dead.html |access-date=2023-01-28 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Poets |first=Academy of American |title=About Charles Simic {{!}} Academy of American Poets |url=https://poets.org/poet/charles-simic |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=poets.org}}</ref> and lived in [[Strafford County, New Hampshire|Strafford]], [[New Hampshire]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Simic |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/n80043344/charles-simic/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> Simic wrote on such diverse topics as jazz, art, and philosophy.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chinen|first=Nate|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/arts/music/10poet.html|title=A Breezy Exchange Between Old Friends (Jazz and Poetry)|date=January 10, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 19, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He was influenced by [[Emily Dickinson]], [[Pablo Neruda]], and [[Fats Waller]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artfuldodge.spaces.wooster.edu/interviews/charles-simic/|title=A Conversation with Charles Simic|last=Williams|first=Eric}}</ref> He was a translator, essayist, and philosopher, opining on the current state of contemporary American poetry. He held the position of poetry editor of ''[[The Paris Review]]'' and was later replaced by [[Dan Chiasson]]. He was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] in 1995, received the Academy Fellowship in 1998, and was elected a chancellor of the [[Academy of American Poets]] in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/charles-simic|title=Charles Simic|last=Simic|first=Charles|date=February 4, 2014|website=Charles Simic|language=en|access-date=January 31, 2018}}</ref>

Simic was one of the judges for the 2007 [[Griffin Poetry Prize]] and continued to contribute poetry and prose to ''[[The New York Review of Books]]''. He received the US$100,000 [[Wallace Stevens Award]] in 2007 from the [[Academy of American Poets]].<ref>{{cite press release|title=Charles Simic Receives The Wallace Stevens Award|url=http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/386|publisher=Academy of American Poets|date=August 2, 2007|access-date=January 22, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625050713/http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/386|archive-date=June 25, 2008}}</ref>

Simic was selected by [[James H. Billington]], Librarian of Congress, to be the fifteenth [[United States Poet Laureate]], succeeding [[Donald Hall]]. In choosing Simic as the poet laureate, Billington cited "the rather stunning and original quality of his poetry".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/books/02poet.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|title=Charles Simic, Surrealist With Dark View, Is Named Poet Laureate|author=Motoko Rich|date=August 2, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 22, 2016}}</ref>

In 2011, Simic was the recipient of the [[Frost Medal]], presented annually for "lifetime achievement in poetry".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://poetrysociety.org/about/news/announcing-the-2011-frost-medalist-charles-simic|title=Announcing the 2011 Frost Medalist, Charles Simic|website=Poetry Society of America|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref>

Simic's extensive papers as well as other material about his work are held at the [[University of New Hampshire]] Library Milne Special Collections and Archives.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-03-07 |title=Guide to the Charles Simic Papers, 1958-2018 |url=https://library.unh.edu/find/archives/collections/charles-simic-papers-1958-2011 |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Library |language=en}}</ref> 

===Personal life and death===
Simic married fashion designer Helene Dubin in 1964, and their union produced two children. In 1971, he became an American citizen.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 10, 2023 |title=Charles Simic, Pulitzer prize-winning poet, dies at age 84 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/10/charles-simic-pulitzer-prize-winning-poet-dies-84 |access-date=January 10, 2023 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Simic died of complications of [[dementia]] on January 9, 2023, at age 84.<ref>{{cite web|title=Charles Simic, Pulitzer-Winning Poet and U.S. Laureate, Dies at 84|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/books/charles-simic-dead.html|work=The New York Times|last=Garner|first=Dwight|date=January 9, 2023|access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Umro američki pesnik srpskog porekla Čarls Simić |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/pop-i-kultura/knjige-stripovi/3612898-umro-carls-simic |access-date=January 9, 2023 |publisher=Telegraf |date=January 9, 2023}}</ref>