American Book Awards
2 appearances
-
Edition 22 (2001) Winner
-
Edition 22 (2001) Lifetime Achievement Award
Philip Whalen
フィリップ・ウェイレン
Philip Whalen
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1923-10-20 （Portland, Oregon, US）
- Died
- 2002-06-26 （San Francisco, California, US） age 78
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Buddhism (Zen)
- Residence History
- Portland, Oregon (birthplace, residence) → The Dalles, Oregon (childhood) → Kyoto, Japan (1966–1967, residence) → San Francisco, California (later residence, activity) → Santa Fe, New Mexico (around 1984, as head monk)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Zen Buddhist monk, Author, Teacher
- Active Years
- 1951-2002
- Affiliations
- San Francisco Zen Center, Hartford Street Zen Center, Dharma Sangha (Santa Fe)
- Influenced By
- Gary Snyder, Lew Welch, Jack Kerouac, D. T. Suzuki, Shunryu Suzuki
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reed College | — | — | B.A. | 1947-1951 | United States |
Reed College
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1947-1951
Year of Graduation:
1951
Country:
United States
Attended on the GI Bill; prepared a book of poems as his BA thesis
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | American Academy of Arts and Letters grant | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 助成 |
American Academy of Arts and Letters grant
1966
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
助成
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Calendar, a Book of Poems (BA thesis)
1951 PoetryEarly collection prepared as his BA thesis at Reed College. Contains poems showing Zen-influenced perspective and everyday observation.
ZenEveryday lifeNature
Self Portrait from Another Direction
1959 Poetry (broadside)A 1959 broadside published by Auerhahn Press, notable for its experimental and personal voice.
Self-explorationObservationZen moments
Memoirs of an Interglacial Age
1960 PoetryPublished in 1960, this collection mixes nature, personal memory, and Zen insights.
NatureMemoryZen
On Bear's Head
1969 Poetry (long poem)Published in 1969; contains longer poems featuring introspection and improvisatory associations.
ImprovisationIntrospectionNature
Canoeing up Cabarga Creek: Buddhist Poems 1955-1986
1996 Poetry (selected/buddhist poems)A 1996 selected collection of Buddhist-themed poems from 1955 to 1986, showing the link between Zen practice and everyday life.
BuddhismZen practiceEveryday observation
The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen
2007 Poetry (collected/edited)Collected and edited by Michael Rothenberg and others, includes major poems across his life (with editorial additions).
ZenNatureImprovisation
Bibliography
- The Calendar, a Book of Poems. Reed College (B.A. thesis), 1951
- Self Portrait from Another Direction. Auerhahn Press, 1959
- Memoirs of an Interglacial Age. Auerhahn Press, 1960
- Like I Say. Totem Press/Corinth Books, 1960
- On Bear's Head. Harcourt, Brace & World/Coyote, 1969
- You Didn't Even Try. Coyote (novel), 1967
- Imaginary Speeches for a Brazen Head. Black Sparrow Press (novel), 1972
- Canoeing up Cabarga Creek: Buddhist Poems 1955-1986. Parallax Press, 1996
- Overtime: Selected Poems by Philip Whalen. Penguin, 1999
- The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen. Wesleyan University Press, 2007
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Improvisatory, associative poetic styleConcise, direct expressions influenced by ZenDetailed observation of everyday subjects
- Recurring Motifs
- Nature and landscapeBuddhist/Zen practiceTravel and movementMoments of solitude and community
Health
-
Declining health in later years (specific illness unspecified)1990年代–2002年Forced him to retire from leadership at the Hartford Street Zen Center
Legacy
Philip Whalen was a major poet associated with the San Francisco Renaissance and the Beat milieu. He is acclaimed for fusing Zen practice with everyday observation in his poetry. His work influenced later American poets and has been collected in major editions.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (grant association)
Archives
- Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University (Philip Whalen Papers)
- The Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley) – guide to Philip Whalen Papers
- Simon Fraser University Special Collections and Rare Books (records of Philip Whalen)
In Popular Culture
- Portrayed as thinly fictionalized characters in Jack Kerouac's novels The Dharma Bums and Big Sur
Trivia
- Read at the famous Six Gallery reading in 1955, associated with the public launch of the West Coast Beat movement
- Served in the US Army Air Forces during World War II
- Spent 1966–1967 in Kyoto supported by a grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and taught English there
- Appears in Jack Kerouac's novels in a lightly fictionalized form (e.g. as 'Warren Coughlin')