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294:"The reader feels hemmed in by Mr. Dennis's laconic truths because they make visible the narrow cage of circumstance and contingency in which we live. Many poets attempt this, but how many succeed? His distinctive force originates in his insidious determination to stay inside that cage, to map it inch by inch and find there - or nowhere - the justifications for human action."
281:
Dennis's language here is so quiet and straightforward that when he alters course yet again to imagine the transformation of a god in the mind of his reader, the change seems natural. This is public poetry that sounds private -- an achievement that's easy to
258:"In 'The God Who Loves You,' his strongest poem in this vein, Dennis avoids bathos by deftly changing the focus from our own anguish at missed opportunities to the grief of the god who loves us. As the poet reminds us:
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Dennis writes often of quotidian, middle-class life, but beneath the modest, reasonably lighted surfaces of the poems lie unexpected possibilities that create contrast and vibrancy. An example from his 1984 collection
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155:, where he has spent most of his career; in 2002, he became an artist-in-residence there. Dennis has also served on the faculty of the graduate program at
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In some of his more recent poems, Dennis invokes guardian angels and other domestic deities to animate his poetry. In his 2004 review,
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702:"The One Life You'd Have Wanted to Live: Reading William Stafford, Carl Dennis, Louis Simpson, and America"
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651:"UB's Carl Dennis Receives One Of The Most Distinguished Literary Awards In The English Language"
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William
Slaughter has given a close reading of this poem in an essay comparing poems by
247:) Dennis uses a similar approach for a proposition that is a bioethicist's nightmare.
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in 1961. In 1966, Dennis received his Ph.D. in
English literature from the
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The Post-confessionals: Conversations with
American poets of the Eighties
826:"The Oracle in the World of Experience: A Conversation with Carl Dennis"
809:"The 'I' and the Beholder: Negotiating the Shoals of Personal Narrative"
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Dennis has received several prizes for his poetry in addition to the
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151:. That same year he became an assistant professor of English at
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Ingersoll, Earl G.; Kitchen, Judith; Rubin, Kitchen (1989).
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is "The Man on My Porch Makes Me an Offer," which begins:
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Dennis is the brother of
American composer Robert Dennis.
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Even after you cease existing, after you catch a chill
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803:Dennis' faculty homepage at University at Buffalo.
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265:And what could have been will remain alive for him
690:, University at Buffalo's online alumni magazine.
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862:Biography and links to several of Dennis' poems.
674:"A Poets' Poet: A Conversation with Carl Dennis"
143:before receiving his bachelor's degree from the
832:. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 85.
277:Will feel compelled to imagine scene by scene.
274:Losing eleven years that the god who loves you
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271:Running out in the snow for the morning paper
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290:addressed the originality of Dennis's art:
222:Does it seem fair that you've won the right
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466:Poetry as Persuasion, an Essay for Writers
225:To gaze from these windows your whole life
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204:With its round turret and big bay window.
135:, on September 17, 1939, Dennis attended
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706:Frigate: The Transverse Review of Books
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216:In a larger house, whose columned porch
201:I've always loved this blue one you own
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468:. University of Georgia Press. 2001.
174:Fellowship in Poetry (1988), and the
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659:University at Buffalo news release.
352:. Princeton University Press. 1979.
207:Do you dream about it the way I do?
13:
792:
768:
749:"Of Hector, Orpheus and Max Jacob"
231:And consign me to a life of envy?"
228:Merely because you saw them first,
184:
149:University of California, Berkeley
72:University of California, Berkeley
14:
1179:
1143:Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners
735:New and Selected Poems: 1974-2004
493:New and Selected Poems, 1974-2004
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649:Donovan, Patricia (2000-04-21).
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111:(born September 17, 1939) is an
672:Peradotto, Nicole (Fall 2002).
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172:National Endowment for the Arts
1153:University of Minnesota alumni
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716:
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262:The difference between what is
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210:Wouldn't you be just as happy
198:"Above all houses in our town
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1133:21st-century American poets
1128:20th-century American poets
723:Orr, David (May 16, 2004).
700:Slaughter, William (2002).
213:On a street with more trees
10:
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1168:21st-century American Jews
747:Sleigh, Tom (1985-07-21).
334:. George Braziller. 1976.
312:. George Braziller. 1974.
219:Impresses every passer-by?
90:Poet and college professor
16:American poet and educator
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897:Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
776:"Biography - Carl Dennis"
686:Article and Interview in
164:Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
94:
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21:
757:Review of Carl Dennis's
733:Review of Carl Dennis's
394:. Viking Penguin. 1992.
364:. William Morrow. 1985.
848:"Carl Dennis (1939 - )"
382:. William Morrow. 1988.
176:Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
145:University of Minnesota
115:and educator. His book
63:University of Minnesota
1148:Oberlin College alumni
807:Christopherson, Bill.
795:"Faculty: Carl Dennis"
296:
284:
1138:Jewish American poets
852:The Poetry Foundation
725:"Poet on Main Street"
380:The Outskirts of Troy
292:
256:
168:Guggenheim Fellowship
157:Warren Wilson College
153:University at Buffalo
141:University of Chicago
59:University of Chicago
286:In his 1984 review,
1123:American male poets
780:The Pulitzer Prizes
133:St. Louis, Missouri
45:St. Louis, Missouri
753:The New York Times
729:The New York Times
411:Ranking the Wishes
390:Meetings with Time
39:September 17, 1939
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1109:
945:Natasha Trethewey
839:978-0-8386-3330-4
620:. Penguin. 2022.
602:. Penguin. 2018.
576:. Penguin. 2014.
550:. Penguin. 2010.
522:. Penguin. 2007.
496:. Penguin. 2004.
442:. Penguin. 2001.
414:. Penguin. 1997.
350:Signs and Wonders
308:A House of My Own
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819:on 2003-06-07.
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759:The Near World
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1074:Complete list
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127:Life and work
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119:won the 2002
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41:(age 85)
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961:W. S. Merwin
927:Franz Wright
921:Paul Muldoon
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855:. Retrieved
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813:Poetry Daily
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783:. Retrieved
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123:for poetry.
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96:Notable work
1158:1939 births
1051:Brandon Som
1039:Diane Seuss
985:Sharon Olds
951:Robert Hass
915:Carl Dennis
899:(2001–2025)
109:Carl Dennis
23:Carl Dennis
1117:Categories
933:Ted Kooser
857:2008-08-18
785:2008-08-18
636:References
288:Tom Sleigh
170:(1984), a
35:1939-09-17
1101:2001–2025
1094:1976–2000
1087:1951–1975
1080:1922–1950
618:Earthborn
592:852238359
566:567155180
484:928383514
458:469134500
252:David Orr
51:Education
973:Kay Ryan
688:UB Today
678:UB Today
547:Callings
538:71146622
512:52773666
430:35673505
178:(2000).
139:and the
131:Born in
254:wrote:
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588:OCLC
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562:OCLC
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534:OCLC
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498:ISBN
480:OCLC
470:ISBN
454:OCLC
444:ISBN
426:OCLC
416:ISBN
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366:ISBN
336:ISBN
314:ISBN
29:Born
80:PhD
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