| Alden Marin | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 4, 1956 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet, Painter |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Alden Marin (born August 4, 1956) is a poet and painter based in Pacific Palisades, California. He has written more than a dozen books, including Let's Face It!: Selected Poems 1974-2009.[1]
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Marin's family moved to Malibu in the 1920s, becoming one of the first residents of the new Malibu Movie Colony.[2] A sensitivity to the beauty of nature, learned while hiking and surfing in this rural suburb of Los Angeles, has been a great influence on Marin's work,[3] as have trips taken in his youth to countries like France, Switzerland, Greece and India. He has worked as wine distributor since the 1980s.[4]
Marin majored in American Studies, with a minor in Creative Writing/Poetry and French, at Stanford University (class of '78). He worked at the university's literary journal Sequoia, edited by fellow student Dana Gioia, who later served as a chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Among his professors were notable poets Timothy Steele, Alan Shapiro, and Donald Davie. Marin focused his studies on the works of Gary Snyder, Richard Brautigan, and Ezra Pound.[5]
The colloquial style of Marin's poetry is easily accessible—and, at the same time, spontaneous and visceral. His poems often connect daily minutiae to existential dilemmas.
In books like Little Nuts (Brass Tacks Press, 2008), he champions a new form of short poem that seems to forgo all poetic devices:[6]
"Not Not Poetry"
There's a guy who works at PC Greens to whom I
give my poetry books. Today he said, "I really
like your work!" I said, "Yeah, thanks, it's not
really poetry..." to which he replied, "Yeah, but it's
not not poetry."
— Little Nuts (Brass Tacks Press, 2008)
Using traditional canvases—as well as the fronts of postcards, hotel stationery and small pieces of paper—Marin paints with acrylic pens to produce contemporary, multi-colored abstracts, portraits, and landscapes. His work has been shown in galleries, and collected by celebrity inventor Ron Popeil among others.[7]
Marin’s image entitled "Riven Rock" is now a wine label for Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wine being sold under a private label of the same name at the grocery chain Whole Foods Market.[8]
Marin's apartment has been dubbed "The Palisades Art House" because of the thousands of paintings that crowd its walls, shelves, and floor. He hosts private tours to showcase his apartment as an art piece in itself.[9]
