John Ciardi
Full Name and Common Aliases
John Ciardi was an American poet, critic, translator, editor, and scholar of Italian literature. He is often referred to as "the father of the sonnet" due to his influential work on the form.
Birth and Death Dates
Born on April 24, 1916, in Boston, Massachusetts, John Ciardi passed away on March 30, 1986.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Ciardi was an American poet, critic, translator, editor, and scholar of Italian literature. He held positions at various institutions, including Harvard University's English department and the Poetry Foundation.
Early Life and Background
Growing up in Boston, Ciardi developed a love for poetry and language from a young age. His Italian heritage played a significant role in shaping his interests and career. After completing his education at Harvard and Columbia universities, he began teaching literature and writing at various institutions.
Major Accomplishments
Ciardi's work as a poet earned him numerous awards and recognition. Some of his notable achievements include:
Being elected the first Poet Laureate of Massachusetts in 1959
Serving as a translator for several Italian literary works, including Giambattista Vico's _The New Science_
Editing prominent poetry anthologies and journalsNotable Works or Actions
Ciardi's most famous poem is "The Sea-Fight", which won the 1946 National Poetry Competition. Other notable works include:
"How to Read a Poem" (1959), an influential book on literary analysis
"Telling It as It Was" (1965), his autobiographyImpact and Legacy
Ciardi's impact on poetry, literature, and education is still felt today. His contributions include:
Advancing the sonnet form: Ciardi's innovative approach to the traditional sonnet structure has inspired many poets
Fostering literary appreciation: Through his writing and teaching, Ciardi made complex literary concepts accessible to a broad audience
Promoting Italian literature: His translations and scholarship helped introduce Italian culture and poetry to English-speaking readers
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
John Ciardi is widely quoted and remembered for his insightful commentary on poetry, literature, and education. His work continues to inspire scholars, writers, and readers alike, solidifying his position as a respected figure in the literary world.
Quotes by John Ciardi
The fact that a good poem will never wholly submit to explanation is not its deficiency but its very life. One lives every day what he cannot define. It is feeling that is first. What one cannot help but sense in good poetry is a sense of the whole language stirring toward richer possibilities than one could have foreseen.
The reader deserves an honest opinion. If he doesn’t deserve it, give it to him anyhow.
Translator’s Note: When the violin repeats what the piano has just played, it cannot make the same sounds and it can only approximate the same chords. It can, however, make recognizably the same “music”, the same air. But it can do so only when it is as faithful to the self-logic of the violin as it is to the self-logic of the piano.
Such perfect incompleteness, suggestion and ambiguity are among the most valuable devices of the skilled poet, means by which the poem opens to let us in.
Boys are the cash of war. Whoever said: we’re not free spenders- doesn’t know our like.
Who could believe an ant in theory? A giraffe in blueprint? Ten thousand doctors of what’s possible Could reason half the jungle out of being.
Good writing tends to present evidence rather than judgments. When the evidence is well presented, the reader’s judgments will agree with those implicit in the writing. But nothing is more disastrous to the communication between writer and reader than a series of implicit judgments with which the reader cannot agree or which he finds to be simply silly or for which he is given no evidence he can respect.