Gift of Diane Wakoski
Born in Whittier, California, Diane Wakoski graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her early work was influenced by poets such as Jerome Rothenberg, Robert Kelly, Clayton Eshleman, and others that were part of the deep image movement. Other poets she cites as influences include William Carlos Williams, Allen Ginsberg, and Charles Bukowski. Her later work was more personal and conversational in the Williams mode. She moved to East Lansing in 1976 where she was Poet in Residence at Michigan State University, as well as a distinguished university professor. Diane Wakoski has published more than forty collections of poetry. In addition to her poetry, she has also published four books of essays. She was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and a Michigan Arts Foundation Award. She received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Michigan Arts Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Upon her retirement from MSU, Ms. Wakoski donated her papers and library to Special Collections, MSU Libraries.