Sunday Diversion: The Deaths of Minor American Poets
My favorite poetry anthology is The Oxford Book of American Poetry. It has a diverse and representative selection of poets that includes familiar names and fresh voices. The poetry itself is of course the star of the show, but an added pleasure are the snappy, succinct biographies for each poet. And, boy, can American poets find ways to off themselves.
Below are the deaths and names of 10 minor American poets, pulled from the bios in The Oxford Book. Your task…..match them up. As always, answers will come on Tuesday.
Good luck!
Deaths
A. Hit by a dune buggy.
B. Heart attack in friend’s swimming pool.
C. Hit by car while walking to hospital to receive treatment for injuries suffered during a suicide
attempt
D. Psoriosis (Last words: “My vocabulary did this to me.”)
E. Drank whiskey poisoned by bartender
F. Disappeared.
G. Died in a snowstorm while walking home from a tavern.
H. Jumped off the Washington Avenue Bridge between St. Paul and Minneapolis.
I. Walked off with rifle. Never seen again.
J. Tuberculosis of the brain lining
Poets
1. Theodore Roethke
2. Robert Johnson
3. Philip Freneau
4. Weldon Kees
5. Randall Jarrell
6. Adelaide Crapsey
7. Lew Welch
8. Frank O’Hara
9. Jack Spicer
10. John Berryman
