Frank Stanford
| Frank Stanford | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francis Gildart Smith August 1, 1948 Richton, Mississippi |
| Died | June 3, 1978 (aged 29) Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | c. 1957–1978 |
| Genre | Southern gothic |
| Subject | Death, Injustice, The Moon, Wolves |
| Notable works | The Battlefield Where The Moon Says I Love You |
| Spouse | Linda Mencin (1971), Ginny Stanford (1974–1978) |
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Frank Stanford (August 1, 1948 – June 3, 1978) was an American poet. He is most known for his epic, The Battlefield Where The Moon Says I Love You—a labyrinthine poem without stanzas or punctuation. In addition, Stanford published six shorter books of poetry throughout his 20s, and three posthumous collections of his writings (as well as a book of selected poems) have also been published.
Frank Stanford was born Francis Gildart Smith on August 1, 1948 to widow Dorothy Margaret Smith at the Emery Memorial Home in Richton, Mississippi. He was soon adopted by a single divorcee named Dorothy Gilbert Alter (1911-2000), who was Firestone's first female manager. In 1952, Gilbert married successful Memphis levee engineer Albert Franklin Stanford (1884-1963), who subsequently also 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 finished junior high school in Mountain Home. The elder Stanford died after the poet's freshman year at Mountain Home High School.
In 1964, as a junior, Stanford entered Subiaco Academy — a boys' prep school — near Paris, Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains. After graduating in May 1966, he entered the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in the fall, first studying business, but soon switching to the College of Arts and Sciences. In fall 1968, Stanford took a poetry class from instructor James Whitehead who — quickly impressed with Stanford's talent — let the undergraduate poet into the graduate poetry-writing workshop for the following semester, spring 1969. Stanford soon became known throughout the Fayetteville literary community and published poetry in the student literary magazine, Preview. However, he left the university in 1970, never earning a degree.
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