Frank Stanford

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Frank Stanford (August 1, 1948 – June 3, 1978) was an American poet.

He is best known for his epic, The Battlefield. Where The Moon Says I Love You—a labyrinthine poem without stanzas or punctuation.

In addition, Stanford released six shorter books of poetry in his 20s, as well as a a book of selected poems.

Early life and education

Frank Stanford was born in 1948 at the Emery Memorial Home in Richton, Mississippi, to widow Dorothy Smith. Dorothy Gilbert Alter (1911–2000), Firestone's first female boss, was soon adopted by him. Gilbert married profitable Memphis levee engineer Albert Franklin Stanford (1884–1963), who later adopted "Frankie" and his younger, adoptive sister, "Ruthie" (Bettina Ruth). Stanford attended Sherwood Elementary School and Sherwood Junior High School in Memphis until 1961, when the family moved to Mountain Home, Arkansas, following A. F. Stanford's retirement; Stanford completed junior high school in Mountain Home. The elder Stanford died after the poet's freshman year at Mountain Home High School.

Stanford University, as a junior, entered Subiaco Academy near Paris, Arkansas, in the Ouachita Mountains in 1964. He began to write poetry at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and soon became well-known in the Fayetteville literary community, and published poetry in the student literary journal, Preview. However, he left the university but not with a degree.

Stanford continued writing for many years, and Linda Mencin married in 1971. Stanford assumed he served on The Battlefield Where The Moon Says I Love You — which is undoubtedly started as a child.

At the Hollins Conference on Creative Writing and Cinema in June 1970, he met Irving Broughton, editor and publisher of Mill Mountain Press. At the conference, Broughton discussed Stanford's work and decided to publish The Singing Knives, the poet's first book. Five of Stanford's poems appeared in The Mill Mountain Review later this year, and The Singing Knives first appeared in 1971 as a limited edition chapbook. Both Stanford and Mencin married this summer, but Mencin left the poet after only three months of marriage.

Stanford's Broughton, a communications teacher and filmmaker, spent much of 1972 touring around South and New England, and these interviews were published in The Writer's Mind: Interviews With American Authors, a three-volume set. Stanford lived briefly in New York City, but only later would he write, "to go to the movies." He returned to Arkansas from New York and stayed in the New Orleans Hotel.

Stanford has proudly served himself (and his second wife) for many years, beginning in 1970 by acting as an unlicensed land surveyor. In the poem "Lament Of The Land Surveyor," the profession influenced his poetry in several ways. Broughton and Stanford produced a 25-minute documentary about Stanford's work and life, filming in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri, sharing the land surveyor's life and advising friends about whom Stanford's literary characters were sometimes based, The title, It Wasn't A Dream, It Was A Flood, which received one of the Judge's Awards at the 1974 Northwest Film & Video Festival, was a winner.

Broughton's Mill Mountain Press published five more of Stanford's chapbook-length manuscripts between 1974 and 1976, following the release of The Singing Knives. Ladies From Hell appeared in 1974, followed by Field Talk, Shade, and Arkansas Bench Stone in 1975; both four books contained drawings by Ginny Stanford. The following year, Constant Stranger was released.

C. D. Wright, a graduate student in the University of Arkansas' Master of Fine Arts program, reconnected with local writers and met poet C. D. Wright, who died in 1975. The two writers began an affair that would last the remainder of Stanford's life. Stanford rented a house on Jackson Drive with Wright in 1976 and founded Lost Roads Publishers to print the work of talented poets without having access to publication; his aim, according to him, was to "reclaim the landscape of American poetry." The Stanfords went from Beaver Lake to the Crouch family's farm in southwest Missouri that fall.

In 1977, Fayetteville, Arkansas based Lost Roads Publishing Company brought its first book, Wright's Room Rented By A Single Woman, to the world, with subsequent titles. The press will publish twelve books under Stanford's direction. In an essay on Arkansas arts in The New York Times, Stanford's professor, Jim Whitehead, referred to Stanford as "the most exciting young Arkansas poet he knows."

The Battlefield is Stanford's most complete and influential book, The Battlefield Where The Moon Says I Love You. In a March 1974 letter, Mill Mountain Press and Lost Roads published a joint journal that numbered 7–12, the printed version of the epic (which had, at one point, exceeded 1,000 pages and 40,000 lines) at 542 pages (383 pages), the second iteration of the Lost Roads catalogue. (In a later version, the first, 2000, version) reached 542 pages (383 pages) in a single issue.

Stanford was heavily occupied with Lost Roads' book-selling efforts by 1978. During this period, Stanford's long-time English professor and mentor, Nicholas Fuhrmann, said, visiting his mother (who lived in Subiaco) more often than ever before seemed normal.

Stanford committed suicide in Fayetteville, Texas, on Saturday evening. widow Ginny Stanford describes how they debated her husband's infidelity; later, Stanford returned to his bedroom, and then gunshots were heard: Stanford had thrice fired himself in the chest with a.22-caliber assault rifle, according to widow Ginny Stanford's "Death In The Cool Evening," adamant. Both Ginny Stanford and C. D. Wright were in the house at the time of his death. On June 6, Stanford's funeral took place. He was buried in St. Benedict's Cemetery in Subiaco underneath a five-mile (eight kilometers) stretch from the Arkansas River.

"A lot on his mind," father Fuhrmann, who had been visiting Stanford shortly before his death, says, and Wright and Ginny Stanford said he was distraught and withdrawn on the day of his suicide. Stanford had spent time at the Arkansas State Hospital (the state mental hospital) in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1972, and may have attempted suicide before.

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Career

Stanford continued writing for many years, and Linda Mencin married in 1971. Stanford probably worked on The Battlefield Where the Moon says I Love You — which is likely because he started as a youth.

At the Hollins Conference on Creative Writing and Cinema in June 1970, he met Irving Broughton, editor and publisher of Mill Mountain Press. At the conference, Broughton discussed Stanford's work and decided to publish The Singing Knives, the poet's first book. Five of Stanford's poems appeared in The Mill Mountain Review later this year, and The Singing Knives was first published in 1971 as a limited edition chapbook. Stanford and Mencin married this summer, but Mencin left the poet after only three months of marriage.

Stanford's Broughton, a communications professor and filmmaker, spent much of 1972 touring around New England, and these interviews were included in The Writer's Mind: Interviews With American Authors, a three-volume set. Stanford lived briefly in New York City, but only "to go to the movies," he would later write. He returned to Arkansas from New York and took a room in the New Orleans Hotel.

Stanford has proudly benefited himself (and his second wife) by serving as an unlicensed land surveyor for many years, beginning as 1970. In several instances, as in the poem "Lament Of The Land Surveyor," the profession permeated his poetry. Broughton and Stanford produced a 25-minute documentary about Stanford's work and life, shooting in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri, addressing the land surveyor's experiences and interviewing friends on whom Stanford's literary characters were often based, The film, It Wasn't A Dream, It Was A Flood, which received one of the Judge's Awards at the 1974 Northwest Film & Video Festival, was released.

Broughton's Mill Mountain Press published five more of Stanford's chapbook-length manuscripts from 1974 to 1976, following the publication of The Singing Knives. Ladies From Hell appeared in 1974, was followed by Field Talk, Shade, and Arkansas Bench Stone in 1975; both four books featured drawings by Ginny Stanford. The following year, Constant Stranger was released.

C. D. Wright, a graduate student in the University of Arkansas' Master of Fine Arts program, returned to Fayetteville in 1975. The two poets began an affair that would last the remainder of Stanford's life. Stanford rented a house in Fayetteville on Jackson Drive with Wright in 1976 and established Lost Roads Publishers, a self-publishing company that promised to showcase the work of talented poets without having access to publication; he said the press was to "reclaim the landscape of American poetry." The Stanfords migrated from Beaver Lake to the Crouch family's farm in southwest Missouri in the fall.

Lost Roads Publishing Company, a Stanford University press, released Wright's Room Rented By A Single Woman in 1977, with additional titles following shortly. According to Stanford's plan, the press will publish twelve books under Stanford's direction. "The most exciting young Arkansas poet he knows" wrote in an article about Arkansas arts in The New York Times earlier this year, Stanford's professor, Jim Whitehead, referred to Stanford as "the most exciting young Arkansas poet he knows."

The Battlefield The Moon Says I Love You was Stanford's most popular and influential book of the year 1977. In an April 1974 letter to poet Alan Dugan, Stanford says "this is better than fine, it is great, it will explode," the published version of the epic (which had, according to Stanford, reached over 1,000 pages and 40,000 lines).

Stanford was mainly occupied with Lost Roads' publishing ventures by 1978. Stanford professor Nicholas Fuhrmann, a long-time Stanford professor, and a long-time friend, has noted that he visited his mother (who lived in Subiaco) more often than not.

Stanford committed suicide in Fayetteville on Saturday evening, June 3, 1978. widow Ginny Stanford writes about how they debated her husband's infidelity; then, Stanford retreated to his bedroom, and gunshots were fired shortly afterwards: Stanford had thrice fired himself in the chest with a.22-caliber assault rifle, declaring that Stanford had thrice fired himself in the chest. Both Ginny Stanford and C. D. Wright were in the house at the time of his death. Stanford's funeral was held on June 6. He was buried in St. Benedict's Cemetery in Subiaco, five miles (eight kilometers) from the Arkansas River.

Father Fuhrmann, who had been in Stanford shortly before his death, believes the poet had "a lot on his mind," and Wright and Ginny Stanford said he was depressed and withdrawn on the day of his suicide. Stanford had also spent time at the Arkansas State Hospital (the state mental hospital) in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1972, and may have attempted suicide before.

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