The Resume

(May 8, 1930- )
Born in San Francisco, California
Wrote poetry collections ‘Riprap’ (1959), ‘The Back Country’ (1967), ‘Turtle Island’ (1974), ‘Axe Handles’ (1983), ‘No Nature’ (1992) and ‘Danger on the Peaks’ (2004)
Has written several essays about Buddhism and environmental issues
Won Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1975)

Why he might be annoying:

Although often classified as a Beat writer, he admits he was never sure what ‘Beat’ meant.
He said by age seven he had read more than most eighteen-year-olds.
With Allen Ginsberg, he advocated the widespread use of LSD (he later regretted this).
He was married four times and is a self-confessed womanizer.
He considered becoming a Buddhist monk but decided he lacked the self-discipline.
He called Jack Kerouac a ‘casualty’ of the Beat Generation.

Why he might not be annoying:

He dropped out of graduate school to ‘sink or swim’ as a poet.
He has worked as a logger, forest ranger, carpenter and seaman.
Unlike many Beat writers, he did not drink or use drugs excessively.
He studied Zen Buddhism for twelve years in Japan.
He has been an ardent environmentalist since the 1950s.
His poems about the natural world are direct and accessible.

Credit: Georgina

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Poets
• 21st Century Poets
• Beat Generation Writers
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [May] (Ranked: 5081930)
• Georgina/Devil Doll's Profiles [Series 3]
• Guggenheim Fellowship Grant Recipients
• I Abused LSD
• I Abused Mushrooms/Psilocybin
• I Abused Peyote
• I am a Buddhist
• I am from San Francisco
• I Am Not Chinese But I Speak It
• I Attended Indiana University [Bloomington]
• I Attended Reed College
• I Attended University of California, Berkeley
• Look at Me, I'm a Man in Shades
• Poets
• Profiles 22501-22750 (Ranked: 22673)
• Teachers

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 20 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 27 Votes: 59.26% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 29 Votes: 55.17% Annoying