The organizers of the poetry forum, in addition to the entire OSU community, mourned the loss of the university’s Poet Laureate this past autumn. David Citino had been one of our judges for the poetry forum for the past two years. He was enthusiastic about the mission of the forum as well as breaking down disciplinary barriers, and his guidance and kind words were very much appreciated. The organizers express their deepest sympathy to David Citino’s family, colleagues, and friends. He was truly a great man and a great poet, and the loss of his talents and wonderful spirit will be missed for years to come.
Please read the official Ohio State press release below to learn more about this extraordinary man.
10-17-2005
Contact: Shelly Hoffman, (614) 247-4748
Ohio State mourns loss of university's poet laureate
David Citino, professor of English, marked occasions with poetry
Ohio State University English Professor David Citino, author of a dozen books of poetry and The Ohio State University Poet Laureate, died today (10/17) due to complications from multiple sclerosis. He was 58.
An Ohio State faculty member for more than three decades, Citino taught at Ohio State's Marion campus for 11 years before coming to the Columbus campus in 1985 to teach English and creative writing. He was on medical leave for the autumn quarter.
He authored 12 books of poetry including the Book of Appassionata: Collected Poems, Broken Symmetry and The Weight of the Heart and earned numerous awards and recognitions, including an Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and an Ohioana Library Association award for career achievement.
Tapped to deliver the winter quarter 2000 commencement address, Citino delivered his poem, "'Pomp, Circumstance, and Other Songs of a Lifetime." In 2002, the university Board of Trustees named him Poet Laureate of the University. Citino was well known on campus for the poetry he wrote for special occasions, such as "A Welcome to the President" to mark President Karen A. Holbrook's first day on the job.
"The university has lost a great friend," said Holbrook. "David Citino was a nationally recognized talent who chronicled some of the best and worst of our times. He taught and mentored generations of students. His poetry helped us to see things in new ways and we will always treasure his work. David was a kind, warm and loving person who cared deeply about family, friends, colleagues and students at this university, in this community, and across the nation. He leaves behind so many who will miss him deeply. I personally feel very privileged to have known him."
He was a member of the board of trustees of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, poetry editor and member of the editorial board of Ohio State University Press, facilitator of the literature panel of the Ohio Arts Council, and member and past president of the board of trustees of Thurber House.
Besides contributing to the Columbus Dispatch, Citino authored Paperwork (Kent State, 2003), a book of essays, and was contributing editor of The Eye of the Poet: Six Views of the Art and Craft of Poetry (Oxford, 2002) and co-editor of The Bible as Literature, 5th edition (Oxford).
His poems have been published over the last 35 years in such periodicals as The Antioch Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Chicago Review, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, New England Review, Poetry, Salmagundi, Shenandoah, The Southern Review, Threepenny Review, Yale Review, and the OSU Buckeye Football Program.
Among his honors and awards are the Governor's Award and a Major Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council, four Ohioana Library Association awards including the first annual Poetry Award, the OSU Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, the Exemplary Faculty Award from the OSU College of Humanities, the Nancy Dasher Award from the College English Association of Ohio, a Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bjornson Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities from the Ohio Humanities Council, the Career Achievement Award from the OSU Alumni Association, and the Hon. John V. Corrigan Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Helen Hicks Citino and three children.
http://www.osu.edu/news/lvl2_news_story.php?id=1235
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