Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz, 1905-2006

Stanley Kunitz on Provincetown.

Last night I reached for you and shaped you there

lying beside me as we drifted past

the farthest seamarks and the watchdog bells,

and round Long Point throbbing its frosty light,

until we streamed into the open sea.

– from Indian Summer at Land’s End

In celebration of his 100th birthday, Friday, July 29, 2005 had been proclaimed as

Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz Day

in the Town of Provincetown

Provincetown Town Manager Keith A. Bergman presents the proclamation to Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz

PROCLAMATION

Be it hereby proclaimed that

WHEREAS, Provincetown’s first Poet Laureate, Stanley Kunitz, has served the Provincetown community through his enduring efforts on behalf of such local institutions as the Fine Arts Work Center; and has, through his life's work, brought honor and distinction to the Provincetown community; and

WHEREAS, Stanley Kunitz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1959, the National Medal of Arts in 1993, and the National Book Award in 1995; and

WHEREAS, President Bill Clinton proclaimed Stanley Kunitz as Poet Laureate of the United States on July 23, 2000, stating that "poet and educator Stanley Kunitz has spent a life opening America's eyes and ears to poetry. He makes the ordinary become extraordinary, the everyday become timeless and significant" and

WHEREAS, Stanley Kunitz is one of the founders of the Fine Art Work Center in Provincetown, the organization which offers the largest residency program for emerging artists and writers in the nation; and

WHEREAS, in 2004 the Town of Provincetown named Stanley Kunitz as the Town’s first Poet Laureate; and

WHEREAS, Stanley Kunitz will celebrate his one hundredth birthday on July 29, 2005 in his renowned harborside garden in Provincetown’s West End;

NOW, THEREFORE, in recognition of his many contributions to our community, the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Provincetown does hereby proclaim

Friday, July 29, 2005

Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz Day

in the Town of Provincetown.

In witness whereof, we hereunto set our hands and cause the seal of the Town Provincetown to be affixed, by vote of the Board of Selectmen on the twenty-fifth day of July, in the year 2005.