Words to live by

The first time I met two-time U.S. poet laureate Stanley Kunitz he was reading before more than 2,000 people at New Jersey's biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival at Waterloo Village in Stanhope. He had ascended the main stage, under a large circuslike tent, and was greeted by thunderous applause that hung in the air like a trapeze performer under a similar enclosure.

He sipped from a water glass, cleared his throat, and surveyed the assembled masses. From the moment he spoke, I was transfixed. For 20 unforgettable minutes, this diminutive god from the poetic pantheon touched us all with his witty, intellectual and quietly passionate words. It was 1996, and he had just turned 91.

Last Friday, Kunitz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, turned 100. He has just published The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden, featuring poems, photographs and conversations about gardening, art, and the end of life.

Kunitz's longevity is an anomaly, particularly among poets. A 2003 California State University study by professor James C. Kaufman, "The Cost of the Muse: Poets Die Young," reported that poets tend to expire younger than other writers: John Keats (25), Sylvia Plath (30), Paul Laurence Dunbar (33), Dylan Thomas (39), Anne Sexton (45). So why has Kunitz confounded the actuaries?

He has said, "Through the years, I have found this gift of poetry to be life-sustaining, life-enhancing and absolutely unpredictable," and "I think it's important for one's survival to keep the richness of the life always there to be tapped."

For many in the region, poetry creates an exchange that brings people closer together. It can be a gift and a surprise. Whether through poetry circles (similar to neighborhood book groups) or readings at a bookstore, this genre is the perfect fit for our 24/7, short-attention-span, instant-messaging lifestyle.

If you crave brevity and loads of images, try haiku. Want less formality and fewer rules? Then it's open-form poetry for you. Plenty of time on your hands? A traditional epic poem may fit your style. Like Shakespeare? Then 14 lines, quatrains and couplets will make you smile.