Although he is mostly forgotten today, Rod McKuen was one of the best-selling poets of the 1960s. He published 29 books of poetry over the course of his career, several of which won awards, including the First Amendment and Freedoms Foundation Award.
He had a rough start in life, having been born in a Salvation Army hostel and he ended up with two birth certificates listing different birthdates and spelling his father’s name different ways. He never knew his father and later in life hired a private detective to track him down. This resulted in an award-winning memoir, Finding My Father.
McKuen dropped out of high school, but he was an avid writer and kept a poetry journal that ended up starting his career. He would read in nightclubs alongside other Beat Generation poets like Ginsberg and Kerouac. Eventually, he began to set his poetry to music and this led to a recording contract. He later was nominated for two Academy Awards for film compositions.
In the late 1960s, he began publishing his poetry and found a following among the younger generation. His spoken-word album, Lonesome Cities, won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1968.
His poems have been translated into eleven languages and he has sold over 60 million books worldwide.
I was first introduced to him by a family member who gave me a copy of his second published poetry book, Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows. I was immediately a fan. His poetry is sparse, simple, yet carries a heavy emotional weight. Here is one of my favorites from this collection:
Poem
I have no special bed.
I give myself to those who offer love.
Can it be wrong?
Lonely rivers going to the sea
give themselves
to many brooks in passing.
So it is with me
undiscovered and alone
till someone says the magic word.
You’ll see me then
some weekend waiting
and if you do
say hello.
Sadly, McKuen didn’t receive kind reviews from critics, probably due to his commercial success, especially with the younger, upstart generation. Still, McKuen found recognition as a poet, songwriter, and advocate for both LBGT rights (he was openly bisexual) and AIDS research. He passed away in 2015.
Are you familiar with McKuen’s work? If not, I highly recommend both his poetry and his music.
RB
I didn’t know this poet and I thank you for sharing one of his poems!
Thank you for taking the time to read it, Luisa. Cheers!
You are so very welcome my dear friend!
It’s my pleasure as always!
Interesting, how people only ever seem to be a commercial success or “indie”?
Not sure what I’d prefer… I definitely appreciate recognition, but… bills also need to be paid.
Based on this poem, he deserved definitely both!
That’s a tough decision. While commercial success would be nice, there are also a lot of drawbacks. I think I prefer indie! Thanks for stopping by, Andrea!
I had totally forgotten about McKuen. He was the one of the most famous writers that few people wanted to read because of a sappy word of mouth reputation. I remember lines from his poems on posters and wooden postcards in souvenir shops.
Based on his popularity in the 60s, I was surprised that he’d basically been forgotten. Glad to know there are a few who still remember him. Thanks, Pat!
Wonderful ♥️
Thank you, Caleb!