Background
Bursk was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University, an Master of Fine Arts from Warren Wilson College and an Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy from Boston University.
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book
Cell Count (Ttup Invited Poets Series)
( In 1996, 1.2 million citizens were incarcerated in U.S....)
In 1996, 1.2 million citizens were incarcerated in U.S. prisons for violent crimes and other felonies. By the year 2000, that number is expected to exceed 2 million. In response to this crisis, throughout the nation, programs built largely on the work of volunteers have risen to challenge traditional concepts about the prison system and rehabilitation, and to engender a new awareness of possibilities. Cell Count, an eloquent and sensitive collection of poems, is the product of one such program. Cell Count’s teacher-persona struggles to come to terms with his inmate-students who are tragically much more than the sum of their crimes.“Cell Count is not a book for Sunday afternoon reading. Innocently, I stepped across the line into Christopher Bursk’s world. An iron gate clanged shut, and I was alone, a red beam. . .aimed straight into my eyes, ‘digging a tunnel into my brain./I had to stare into the center of that burning/till it was all I could see.’“Cell Count is not just a book about the prison system. When the guard-tower floodlights snap on, trapped in its crossbeams is the book’s persona—a college instructor engaged in directing a poetry workshop in a reconverted storage closet in jail or counseling individual inmates in an interview room more cramped than a cell. He is teacher, poet, political activist, a man committed to making a difference in the lives of his students, yet he doesn’t seem certain why he feels compelled to do so; he is not entirely sure he wants to try this hard. Cell Count details the life-quest of this activist who, despite his fears, his hatred of evil, his repugnance for violence, his despair at what may be a hopeless endeavor, still acts, still takes a stand.” —Robert A. Fink
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0896723852/?tag=2022091-20
Standing Watch (Houghton Mifflin New Poetry Series)
(Very clean and tight copy. Corner is slightly rubbed. Siz...)
Very clean and tight copy. Corner is slightly rubbed. Size: 6" x 9". No marks. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. All edges are clean. NOT ex-library. All books offered from DSB are stocked at our store in Fayetteville, AR. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Poetry; ISBN: 0395271185. ISBN/EAN: 9780395271186. Inventory No: 025266.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0395271185/?tag=2022091-20
Christopher Bursk
Edit ProfileEducation
Boston University; Tufts University.
Career
He is the author of nine poetry collections, including The First Inhabitants of Arcadia published by the (University of Arkansas Press (2006), praised by The New York Times which said, "Bursk writes with verve and insight about child rearing, aging parents, sexuality, his literary heroes, the sexuality of his literary heroes."
He lives in Langhorne Manor, Pennsylvania, and teaches at Buckinghamshire County Community College. His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including Paris Review, The American Poetry Review and Manhattan Review, and in anthologies including The Mysterious of the Heart: Writing from The Sun About Passion, Longing, and Love (Sun Publishing Company, 2009), and Three new poets: Christopher Bursk, William Corbett, Paul Hannigan (Pym-Randall Press, 1966).
Achievements
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Bursk"s literary honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1995 Pew Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation. His awards include the Capricorn Poetry Award, the Green Rose Prize, Milton Kessler Poetry Book Award, the 49th Parallel Poetry Award and the Donald Hall Prize in Poetry. His humanitarian honors include the Buckinghamshire County Citizen of the Year award from Buckinghamshire County Community College, and the Buckinghamshire County Humanitarian of the Year award. His humanitarian activities have included working as a probation counselor, volunteering in a shelter for abused women and teaching poetry to prisoners at Buckinghamshire County Prison. He has been an advocate for the homeless and an organizer for farm workers’ rights.
Works
book
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Standing Watch (Houghton Mifflin New Poetry Series)
(Very clean and tight copy. Corner is slightly rubbed. Siz...)
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Cell Count (Ttup Invited Poets Series)
( In 1996, 1.2 million citizens were incarcerated in U.S....)
- Making wings
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Standing Watch (Houghton Mifflin New Poetry Series)
Education
Awards
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Guggenheim Fellowship Bursk's literary honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1995 Pew Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation. His awards include the Capricorn Poetry Award, the Green Rose Prize, Milton Kessler Poetry Book Award, the 49th Parallel Poetry Award and the Donald Hall Prize in Poetry. His humanitarian honors include the Bucks County Citizen of the Year award from Bucks County Community College, and the Bucks County Humanitarian of the Year award. His humanitarian activities have included working as a probation counselor, volunteering in a shelter for abused women and teaching poetry to prisoners at Bucks County Prison. He has been an advocate for the homeless and an organizer for farm workers’ rights.Guggenheim Fellowship Bursk's literary honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1995 Pew Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation. His awards include the Capricorn Poetry Award, the Green Rose Prize, Milton Kessler Poetry Book Award, the 49th Parallel Poetry Award and the Donald Hall Prize in Poetry. His humanitarian honors include the Bucks County Citizen of the Year award from Bucks County Community College, and the Bucks County Humanitarian of the Year award. His humanitarian activities have included working as a probation counselor, volunteering in a shelter for abused women and teaching poetry to prisoners at Bucks County Prison. He has been an advocate for the homeless and an organizer for farm workers’ rights.
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Guggenheim Fellowship Bursk's literary honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1995 Pew Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation. His awards include the Capricorn Poetry Award, the Green Rose Prize, Milton Kessler Poetry Book Award, the 49th Parallel Poetry Award and the Donald Hall Prize in Poetry. His humanitarian honors include the Bucks County Citizen of the Year award from Bucks County Community College, and the Bucks County Humanitarian of the Year award. His humanitarian activities have included working as a probation counselor, volunteering in a shelter for abused women and teaching poetry to prisoners at Bucks County Prison. He has been an advocate for the homeless and an organizer for farm workers’ rights.Guggenheim Fellowship Bursk's literary honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1995 Pew Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation. His awards include the Capricorn Poetry Award, the Green Rose Prize, Milton Kessler Poetry Book Award, the 49th Parallel Poetry Award and the Donald Hall Prize in Poetry. His humanitarian honors include the Bucks County Citizen of the Year award from Bucks County Community College, and the Bucks County Humanitarian of the Year award. His humanitarian activities have included working as a probation counselor, volunteering in a shelter for abused women and teaching poetry to prisoners at Bucks County Prison. He has been an advocate for the homeless and an organizer for farm workers’ rights.