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by George J. Dance

George Stanley

George Stanley. Courtesy The Tyee.

George Anthony Stanley (born 1934) is an American-Canadian poet associated with the San Francisco Renaissance in his early years, and later a resident of British Columbia.[1]

Life[]

Stanley was born in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, and raised in the city.

He won a scholarship to the University of San Francisc in 1951, but dropped out the following year. He enrolled at the University of Utah in 1952, but left in 1953 and returned to San Francisco, where he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving until 1956.[1]

In 1956 Stanley enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, where he stayed until 1957. In 1957 he met poet Jack Spicer and showed him 1 of his poems, which Spicer liked. For the next 8 years Stanley was a member of the Jack Spicer Circle and a part of the wider San Francisco Renaissance, which also included Robert Duncan and Robin Blaser. His debut collection of poetry was printed by White Rabbit Press in 1963.[1]

Stanley returned to San Francisco State University in 1967, earning a B.A. in 1969 and an M.A. in 1971.[1]

In 1971, Stanley moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he lived for 5 years, becoming associated with The Grape underground newspaper (1971-1972) and New Star Books (1973-1974). New Star published his You: Poems, 1957-1967 in 1974.[1]

In 1976 he moved to Terrace, British Columbia. He taught English at Northwest Community College in Terrace until 1991.[1]

Stanley returned to Vancouver in 1992, and took a teaching position at Capilano College. He became a Board member of the Capilano Press Society, publishers of the Capilano Review, in 2002. He retired from Capilano in 2003, but continued to live in Vancouver and to write new poetry.[1]

Writing[]

Stanley has published several books of poetry. A well-known poem of his is "Veracruz". 

Stanley considers T.S. Eliot, Robert Lowell, and Charles Olson important influences on his poetry.[2]

Recognition[]

In 2006 Stanley won the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America.[1]

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • The Love Root. San Francisco, CA: White Rabbit, 1958
  • Tete Rouge/Pony Express Riders. San Francisco, CA: White Rabbit, 1963
  • Beyond Love. San Francisco, CA: Open Space, 1968
  • You: Poems, 1957-1967. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 1974.
  • The Stick: Poems, 1969-1973. Vancouver, BC: Talonbooks, 1974.
  • Opening Day. Lantzville, BC: Oolichan Books, 1983.
  • Temporarily. Gorse, 1986.
  • Gentle Northern Summer. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 1995.
  • At Andy's. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 2000.
  • A Tall Serious Girl: Selected Poems 1957-2000. Jamestown, RI: Qua Books, 2003
  • Seniors. Nomados, 2006.
  • Vancouver: A poem. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 2008.
  • After Desire. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 2013.[3]

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy rob mclennan.[4]

See also[]

George_Stanley_-_Berkeley_Open_Mike

George Stanley - Berkeley Open Mike

References[]

Fonds[]

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 George Stanley poems and other writings, Memory BC, British Columbia Archival Information Network. Web, June 9, 2013.
  2. Don Precosky, Introduction: North of What?, Harbour Publishing. Web, December 17, 2006.
  3. "George Stanley: Rave for ‘After Desire’ in Saturday’s ‘Sun’; launch this Friday," New Star Blogs, May 28, 2013, New Star Books. Web, June 9, 2013.
  4. "The Capilano Review 3.14: The George Stanley Issue," rob mclennan's blog, June 21, 2011. Blogspot, Web, June 9, 2013.

External links[]

Poems
Audio / video
Books
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Original Penny's Poetry Pages article, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0.
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