Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen born 29 April 1933Rod McKuen is a bestselling American poet, composer and singer, instrumental in the revitalisation of popular poetry in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Born in Oakland, California, he ran away from home at an early age to avoid an alcoholic stepfather and after a series of drifter jobs throught the West and a spell with the army in Korea, began to find an audience with his poetry in the 1950s, eventually appearing with Beat poets such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.
After moving to New York in 1959, he found great success in the 1960s with his poetry and songs. He spent much time in France working with and translating the work of his friend Jacques Brel.
In the late 1960s, McKuen managed to capture in verse the feelings of the student generation in opposition to the Vietnam war and his readings were attended like rock concerts.
He has written many hundreds of songs, including two albums for Frank Sinatra, and collaborated with many including Henry Mancini and John Williams. He has sold millions of albums and written orchestral and film music - his scores for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1970) were Oscar nominated.
A major spell of clinical depression in the 1980s made him withdraw from the limelight. He has long since returned to activity but in a more low-key way and now making full use of the Internet.Always a performer with a social conscience, he has gone from fighting the Vietnam war and apartheid and on to work for AIDS awareness.
Rod McKuen has a partner of 45 years standing.
"It doesn't matter who you love, or how you love, but that you love." - Rod McKuen
Labels: Photographers, Poets, Singers, Songwriters
posted by Peter Jacobs at 12:01 am
7 Comments:
I have always liked his poetry and am shocked he has never achieved "critical" acclaim. He is readable whereas some of the stuff you see in poetry journals is undecipherable.
'Readable' can also mean he's banal. But I have never thought McKuen was the worst poet in the world, critically. There's a bias against him because he did not gain his success thorough academia and because he made a lot of money with his work; great poets are supposed to be mostly poor. McKuen's work is no less weighty or shallow than Creeley or Brautigan or for that matter Bukowski. But I will admit, I didnt realize he was gay. Interesting reading today.
LP
Readable does not necessarily mean banal but I see the point. Conversely, just because something is undecipherable does not mean it is filled with deep meaning. One major reason poetry is not popular today is that it is not accessible (is that a better term?).
As a young man, many years ago, McKuen was the first poet that was for the most part accessible to me.
I agree that his success was a large part of why he was rejected. Also, I agree with Lamont that the academic community hated him then, and continue to do so today.
Thanks for responding to my comment.
He was introduced in a concert in Vienna by singer Greta Keller and he in turn introduced her here in the states in a concert in Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center in the early 1970s. An album of the concert was released.
I have always loved Rod McKuen and I've thought he was gay but was not for sure. Every time I've read about him it's said that he's lived with his brother. On here it says he's had a partner for 45 years.
I would love to see him at a reading. Guess I missed my opportunity but I do have 4 hardback books that I can read and read. An 8-track is what I started my love for him. What a voice. ADORED IT!
Peter,
Thanks for posting this. I had forgotten about my 1960's love of Rod McKuen until I began a new relationship. His poems always seemed about love and loss with hints of optimism or hope. I am thrilled to learn that he is gay and am so happy that he has been with his partner for 45 years.
Scott Shannon
I know a woman who spent a day and night with Rod in San Diego many years ago and she assured me that Rod was bisexual. She and Rod did more than play checkers all night. A man can be straight, bi, or homosexual. Get it straight. Rod was a bisexual.
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