Frank Samperi
http://poetfranksamperi.blogspot.com/1933—1991
Poet Frank Samperi was born in Brooklyn to Italian parents. An autodidact influenced by Thomas Aquinas and Dante Alighieri, Samperi was mentored by poets Louis Zukofsky and Cid Corman.
His poems engage themes of spirituality and transcendence. In a 2008 essay on Samperi’s poetics for Jacket Magazine, J. Townsend observes, “There is a level of hermetic intimacy within Samperi’s work that creates a fascinating contrast to the vast metaphysical field with which he philosophically engages. The instances of connection are expansive; a sudden sight finds its origin within an overarching spiritual nature.”
Samperi published more than 20 poetry collections during his lifetime, including the trilogy The Prefiguration (1971), Quadrifariam (1973), and Lumen Gloriae (1973), as well as The Kingdom (1979) and Alfa ed O (1976). An introduction to Samperi’s work can be found in the posthumously published volume Spiritual Necessity: Selected Poems of Frank Samperi (2004, edited by John Martone).
He died in 1991, following complications from pneumonia at an Arizona veteran’s hospital, at the age of 58. The 120 letters poet and editor Cid Corman wrote to Samperi between 1972 and 1975 are archived in Special Collections at the University of California at Davis.
His poems engage themes of spirituality and transcendence. In a 2008 essay on Samperi’s poetics for Jacket Magazine, J. Townsend observes, “There is a level of hermetic intimacy within Samperi’s work that creates a fascinating contrast to the vast metaphysical field with which he philosophically engages. The instances of connection are expansive; a sudden sight finds its origin within an overarching spiritual nature.”
Samperi published more than 20 poetry collections during his lifetime, including the trilogy The Prefiguration (1971), Quadrifariam (1973), and Lumen Gloriae (1973), as well as The Kingdom (1979) and Alfa ed O (1976). An introduction to Samperi’s work can be found in the posthumously published volume Spiritual Necessity: Selected Poems of Frank Samperi (2004, edited by John Martone).
He died in 1991, following complications from pneumonia at an Arizona veteran’s hospital, at the age of 58. The 120 letters poet and editor Cid Corman wrote to Samperi between 1972 and 1975 are archived in Special Collections at the University of California at Davis.