George Witte is the author of three books of poetry: Does She Have a Name, Deniability and The Apparitioners. His poems have also been published in The Atlantic, The Antioch Review, Boulevard, Gettysburg Review, The Hopkins Review, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Poetry , Prairie Schooner, New York Quarterly, Southwest Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Yale Review. Witte has also worked in book publishing at St. Martin's Press for thirty three years, as an editor, the publisher of Picador USA, and now as editor in chief. A graduate of Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Awards
Witte received Poetry's Frederick Bock Prize for a group of poems, a poetry fellowship from the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State, and his poem "At Dusk, the Catbird" was selected for The Best American Poetry 2007 anthology.
Meta-Land: Poets of the Palisades II, ed. Paul Nash and Denise La Neve
What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing, ed. Peter Ginna
Reviews
Excerpts of reviews of Does She Have a Name: "Witte has done something extraordinary here. At once terrifying and heartrending, Does She Have a Name? demonstrates unflinchingly that what lies at the heart of faith is love. It is a great and important work."—Frank Wilson, Philadelphia Inquirer Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/literature/20140824_Three_new_books_of_poems__A_world_of_gadgets__and_something_greater.html#MJw1GDiOfmWSBiCK.99 Excerpts from reviews of Deniability: Poems:
"Poetry is as ancient as language. It ranges from the simple pun to the complex metaphor. And at its best it is nothing less than music for the mind. Such is the caliber of poetry by George Witte that is now compiled into "Deniability". This is Witte's second anthology and is particularly notable for his deft skills in creating memorable verse." --Midwest Poetry Review.
" looks closely at our troubled times, as well as the troubling language and verbal abuse that surfaces in such uncertain moments: clichés and euphemisms, code words and doublespeak....With loose but careful measures and a keen regard for the exactly right word, Witte examines every opened can of worms before kicking it down the road. Smart, timely, and sane, this volume is highly recommended." --Library Journal
"There are times in history when it is best for a people to move on from past mistakes. There are other times, such as now, when the past cries out to be explored. For those who are searching for meaning to the last eight years, a new book by American poet, George Witte, Deniability, is the place to start." --The Environmentalist
Excerpts from reviews of Apparitioners: Poems
"His intensity of intelligence burns down scenes to their forms... rare and original. Read him." --James Applewhite, 2005 "A metaphysician of the suburbs, alert to the heights and depths that inhere in everyday life...lovely, auspicious debut." -- Willard Spiegelman
"A storyteller, a keen observer of natural and social environments, and an intelligent commentator on our particular moment in history." -- Henry Hart, Verse
"Complex but bracingly clear view of a world where apparent ease and security are undermined by apprehension...remarkable achievement." -- Fred Chappell "Confident, ironic....Like a Frost of the suburbs, Witte regards the cozy, domesticated landscape he inhabits with an unsettling lucidity." -- Adam Kirsch, New York Sun "Genuine religious sensibility informs these poems....If you read only one book of poems this year, make it this one." -- Frank Wilson, The Philadelphia Inquirer "His linguistic glow, around a larger patterning, is rare and original. Read him." -- James Applewhite "Mature in both voice and vision...a style that evokes both A.R. Ammons and Robert Frost." -- Library Journal "Out of our shared wounds and joys...George Witte makes poems are marked by a rare clarity and accessibility." -- George Garrett George Garrett "Powerful...exquisite...brilliantly imagined...poetry notable for its imagery, which is informed by the intense interest that is love." -- Academia
"A certain but undefined knowledge that forces dark and deep are destroying the underpinnings of contemporary life...a remarkable achievement... " --Fred Chappell, 2005
Links to reviews
Philadelphia Inquirer review of Does She Have a Name? http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/literature/20140824_Three_new_books_of_poems__A_world_of_gadgets__and_something_greater.html#MJw1GDiOfmWSBiCK.99
