Robert Lax

Robert Lax (1915–September 26, 2000) was an American poet, known in particular for his association with famed 20th century Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton. A third friend of his youth, whose work sheds light on both Lax and Merton, was Ad Reinhardt. During the latter period of his life, Lax resided on the island of Patmos, Greece. Considered by some to be a self-exiled hermit, he nonetheless welcomed visitors to his home on the island, but did nothing to court publicity or expand his literary career or reputation.

Life

He was born in Olean, New York, to Sigmund and Rebecca Lax and converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism in 1943. Lax attended Columbia University, in New York City, where he studied with the poet and critic Mark Van Doren. Lax graduated in 1938. On leaving school, he worked for several mainstream magazines before he began his process of moving into a simple life. An expert juggler, he worked in a circus for some time during his initial years of wandering.

Lax moved back to Olean in 2000 after living abroad for more than 30 years. He died in his hometown at age 84.

Writings

Robert Lax's most famous book, Circus Of The Sun, a meditation on creation, was heralded by the New York Times as "perhaps the greatest English language poem of this century".

In his later poetry, Lax concentrated on simplicity and on making the most out of the fewest components. This makes him one of the patron saints of literary minimalism. Some of his poems can go on for several pages using no more than four words and a punctuation mark. In some instances, Lax uses repetition of a few words either as a device for instilling a sense of serenity or to create a sense of surprise in the reader when a change in the pattern occurs. Despite the limited vocabulary of his poems, some create narratives, while others seem more like examples for use in meditative practice or even spiritual discipline. A good example of this abstract technique can be seen in the following untitled work, first published in "New Poems" (1960):

:"one bird":"two birds"
:"one bird":"two birds"
:"two birds":"one bird"
:"two birds":"one bird"
:"one bird":"two birds"
:"one bird":"two birds"
:"two birds":"one bird"
:"two birds":"one bird"
:"one"

St. Bonaventure University, near Olean, houses the main Robert Lax archives.

Literature

Books
* Sigrid Hauff: "A Line in Three Circles. The Inner Biography of Robert Lax & A Comprehensive Catalog of His Works", BoD, Norderstedt, 2007, ISBN 978-3833484803

ee also

*List of American poets
*Anti-war movement
*Hermits
*Vietnam War

External links

*http://www.hermitary.com/articles/lax.html
*http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/sep99/20a.html
*http://www.thomasmertonsociety.org/biddle.htm
*worldcat id|id=lccn-n85-813804