The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden

April, 2006 - July, 2006 | Rockwell Gallery

At my touch the wild braid of creation trembles.

“The Snakes of September”

In 2005 Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006), Worcester native, turned 100 years old. He was a poet, editor, essayist and translator. At the age of 95 he became America’s 10th poet laureate. He last book of poetry, The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden, was published to celebrate his birthday. The volume highlighted his love of horticulture and his passion for gardening.

Kunitz’s first collection of verse appeared in 1930. He wrote in a conversational tone of such complex themes as the work of a poet, loss, time, and the chaos of inner life. Kunitz’s poetry has been translated into more than a dozen languages. In 1955 his selected poems, Passing Through, won the National Book Award. “The poem comes in the form of a blessing,” he once remarked, “like the rapture breaking through on the mind.”

The exhibit featured photographs taken by Marnie Crawford-Samuelson for Kunitz’s final publication before his death. Marnie Crawford-Samuelson is a nationally-recognized editorial and fine art photographer, whose images have appeared in The New Yorker, People, Stern, U.S. News & World Report, and Newsweek, among other publications.

PHOTO CREDIT: Marnie Crawford Samuelson