Diane Wakoski



Diane Wakoski (born August 3, 1937) is a American poet who is primarily associated with the deep image poets, as well as the confessional and Beat poets of the 1960s.

Life
Wakoski was born in Whittier, California and studied at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts, where she participated in Thom Gunn's poetry workshops. It was there that she first read many of the modernist poets who would influence her writing style.

Her early writings were considered part of the deep image movement that also included the works of Jerome Rothenberg, Robert Kelly, and Clayton Eshleman, among others. She also cites William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg as influences. Her later work is more personal and conversational in the Williams mode.

She is best known for a series of poems collectively known as "The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems."

She received considerable attention in the 1980s for controversial comments linking New Formalism with Reaganism.

Wakoski is married to Sam Otter, and taught creative writing at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, retiring in 2011.

Recognition

 * William Carlos Williams Award for her book Emerald Ice.
 * Guggenheim Foundation grant
 * National Endowment for the Arts grant
 * Fulbright grant

Poetry

 * "Red Bandana", echonyc
 * The Archaeology of Movies and Books sequence:
 * The Archaeology of Movies and Books sequence:
 * The Archaeology of Movies and Books sequence: