Similar to my taste in music, my writing influences are eclectic.
Major influences: Edgar Allan Poe, Lanston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Herman Melville, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Jack Kerouac
Other Influences: Maya Angelou, Zora Neal Hurston, William Shakespeare, John Milton, Mary Oliver
Authors I Want To Read: D. H. Lawrence, Ezra Pound, Walt Whitman, Derek Walcott
GEORGE OPPEN (1908-1994)
Chief exponent of Objectivism, which emphasized simplicity and clarity.
Becam more engaged in politicsduring the great Depression, becoming a member of the Communist Party. Supported workers rights.
Discrete Series- Oppen's first book published in 1934
Did not write poetry again until 1958.
The Materials- Oppen's 2nd book
Poetry is lean and precise using words sparingly
Won Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for his book Of Being Numerous.
Died from complications of Alzheimer's disease
