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Landlubber77 t1_j7kdony wrote

We who gather here today shall not allow his name to be lost to the sands of time! Each one of you who sees this post, go out into the world today and speak his name. Tell one person about his deeds at work, in the drive-thru, during a polite bank robbery or home invasion, while buying nails to finally hang that goddamn frame that has two hangy things on the back instead of just one in the center so now you have to make sure the nails are perfectly level or the picture is gonna be crooked and drive you absolutely fucking nu--just tell somebody, anybody!

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PerNewton t1_j7kgnep wrote

TIL George Santos was a poet in a past life.

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negcap t1_j7ki870 wrote

There is a song by Too Much Joy that references him. It’s called, “Good Kill.”

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ITeechYoKidsArt t1_j7kk4oo wrote

Replying to NecessaryHuckleberry (#1,743,165)

He was popular with the same kind of people maybe, but he wasn’t anything like Kinkaide. Kinkaide would have used his kids blood in the paintings if he thought he could sell more of his shit. He was a shameless huckster who used other people to do the work for him and made it abundantly clear he thought the people who bought his trash were morons who deserved to lose their money. There’s a segment from 60 Minutes with him and it’s very obvious what kind of guy he is even though they edited it down to make him look less of a turd.

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Kipsydaisy t1_j7kycjn wrote

Knew a woman in college who gave me a Rod McKuen poem as a sort of courtship gesture. This was late 90's in a college full of mostly English majors. I knew who he was, but barely, and associated him with (figurative) cheese. Think only time he came up after that was when Gene Ween did a whole album of McKuen poems as songs [someone else mentioned].

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stinking_badgers t1_j7l0axt wrote

And today perhaps you also learned that his name is actually Rod.

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mindfu t1_j7l0twp wrote

Wow that was interesting.

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MajCassiusStarbuckle t1_j7l6ckv wrote

What a fascinating character. I know I'd heard the name but reading up now, I didn't really know Jack about Rod.

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jcd1974 t1_j7lfzqm wrote

Probably the last poet to become a celebrity and household name.

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rofopp t1_j7lkcaa wrote

Y’all forgot his name. It’s Rod.

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dougola t1_j7lngct wrote

If I remember, he wrote the song "Jean" which was very popular and there are a lot of women around named for that song.

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HPmoni t1_j7lqjxw wrote

We only remember artists who were ahead of their time.

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tplgigo t1_j7lw1ub wrote

He was very popular when I was selling books in the 70s.

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SAT0725 OP t1_j7lyj3k wrote

Replying to HappyHighwayman (#1,746,506)

Probably only print a few hundred, if that. Most poetry printed today is from small presses anyway. If a major publisher prints poetry they're usually old classics in the public domain or really well-known poets like Sylvia Plath or the Beats, etc.

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hurtindog t1_j7lzj8a wrote

It’s Rod and he’s not forgotten. Much better poets have been though. Do yourself a favor and learn about Ken Patchen. That guys influence on modern American poetry is waaaay under credited. He also wrote some good poetry.

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macdon74 t1_j7ma5fq wrote

"It's not who you love or how you love, Just that you love"

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Rosy2020Derek t1_j7mc1zz wrote

Idk he was the “ best” Who decided that? I don’t like his stuff

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t3chiman t1_j7mrsht wrote

McKuen was popular enough in the 1970s to attract parodists. In Someone’s Sneakers is appropriately wistful and inappropriately vulgar (Credibility Gap, A Great Gift Idea).

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DavoTB t1_j7mwm1w wrote

Rod McKuen was wildly popular as a poet and songwriter in the sixties. Two of his more famous songs were translated from Jacques Brel, (“If You Go Away” and “Seasons In The Sun.”) He wrote an Academy Award-nominated song, “Jean” (from the film, “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” ) as well as “A Boy Named Charlie Brown.”
His singing voice was uncommon, raspy and quite rough-sounding, yet his albums sold extremely well in the era. However, those and the books he published did not have the lasting impression on the public as tastes changed.

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CustomHW t1_j7ncih3 wrote

This really reinforces my belief that no matter what you accomplish, everyone will eventually forget you. It's family that really matters. All the other peripheral stuff (career, money, esteem, etc.) is just noise. I would gladly trade all of it in for just one more hour with my lost loved ones.

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cancercauser69 t1_j7nrpvm wrote

Great poems and great ballads but I've met many people who absolutely hate him. Read his book about his search for his father, it's pretty good

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Snork_kitty t1_j7s3k5a wrote

My family had one of his books or records and I thought he was great when I was 13 (1968). Then I took a poetry class in high school...

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