Today is the 84th birthday of the poet Rod McKuen. Anna Cottage requested we celebrate his life and I am more than happy to oblige. He was prolific. His words are part of the American cultural collective. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: Rod McKuen
DATE OF BIRTH: April 29, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH: Oakland, CA
DATE OF DEATH: January 29, 2015
PLACE OF DEATH: Beverley Hills, CA

BEST KNOWN FOR: Rodney Marvin “Rod” McKuen was an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s.

Rodney Marvin McKuen was born at the Salvation Army hostel in Oakland, California, and raised by his alcoholic mother and a stepfather. He ran away at 11 and traveled the West Coast…