Dušan Simić was born inBelgrade. In his early childhood, duringWorld 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 theCortland 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."[2]
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 toOak Park, Illinois, where he graduated from high school.[3] In 1961, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and in 1966, he earned hisB.A. fromNew York University while working at night to cover the costs of tuition.[4]
Simic began to make a name for himself in the early to mid-1970s as a literary minimalist, writing terse, imagistic poems.[5] 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."[6]
Simic was selected byJames H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, to be the fifteenthUnited States Poet Laureate, succeedingDonald Hall. In choosing Simic as the poet laureate, Billington cited "the rather stunning and original quality of his poetry".[14]
In 2011, Simic was the recipient of theFrost Medal, presented annually for "lifetime achievement in poetry".[15]
Simic's extensive papers as well as other material about his work are held at theUniversity of New Hampshire Library Milne Special Collections and Archives.[16]
Simic married fashion designer Helene Dubin in 1964, and their union produced two children. In 1971, he became an American citizen.[17] Simic died of complications ofdementia on January 9, 2023, at age 84.[18][19]
^"Charles Simic".Academy of American Poets. RetrievedSeptember 3, 2024.
^Rodriguez, J. Matos (2005).Unmothered Americas: Poetry and Universality (On Charles Simic, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Giannina Braschi. New York: Columbia University Academic Commons.
^Simic, Charles (ed.) (1992)The Best American Poetry 1992, Charles Scribner's Sons p xvISBN978-0-684-19501-8
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