Puckerbrush Press

In 1958, at the beginning of Constance Hunting's career as a poet, William Carlos Williams said of her After the Stravinsky Concert, "Something clicked for me and when that happens I hope I have sense enough to recognize it as a rare occurrence." In the decades since, Hunting has offered us a series of such rare moments. Like Marianne Moore and Elizabeth Bishop, Hunting has devoted her life to shaping a relatively slim but perfectly crafted ouevre. Her work ranges from imagist lyrics to a verse novella; and in the extended meditative poems of her recent years Hunting has created a mode -- witty, playful, but probingly reflective -- that is distinctively her own.

From Rate My Professors:

Here is the entry.

Over sixty writers contributed to the Constance Hunting Memorial Issue of Puckerbush Review, which includes criticism, family history, reminiscences, works by Constance Hunting (some unpublished), poetry, and material of interest to scholars and bibliographers, besides new works of poetry and fiction.

"Constance Hunting is surely one of the most distinguished poets of the twentieth century--a poet whose poems become myths as one reads them. The places she writes of are dream palaces where we guess something happened long ago and cannot be forgotten."—May Sarton

[To order, write Puckerbrush Press, 76 Main Street, Orono, ME 04473. As was Constance Hunting's practice, we will send your books with an invoice (including shipping and handling as USPS media).]

The authors' bios always come in late. So, in lieu of a bio, here is Constance Hunting's obituary, from the Bangor Daily News:

ORONO - Constance Hunting, poet, publisher, teacher, and musician, died in the early morning hours, April 5, 2006, in Bangor. Having never retired, she continued to write, edit, instruct her students, play the piano, and manage her property until the day she was stricken. She is survived by a daughter, Miranda; grandchildren Michael, Caroline, and Rebecca; great-grandchildren Michael, Calista and Hadley; a son, Sam; many works; and many, many students. She was preceded by her cat, Leo. ... In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Orono Public Library... .