User:Eliotpoe/C. E. Chaffin

Craig Erick Chaffin was born in Ventura, CA, in 1954, to Elda Christina Chaffin nee' Erickson and Roger Allen Chaffin, the second of four siblings. His mother read him poetry from an early age, as mentioned in the essay, "On Becoming a Poet" in Pif Magazine, fostering a poetic identity, though he explains in the article cited that verbal excellence may in fact be caused by emotional deprivation in pre-verbal development.

Excluding high school, where he spent his senior year in Germany as an AFS Scholar to Germany, his first award came at 17, placing in the Writer’s Digest Poetry Contest. At Goldenwest College he co-founded the literary journal, Carrion, for which he later assumed editorial duties for poetry. Matriculating to UCLA, in 1976 he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude, winning the Edward Niles Hooker Award for the top honors student in English (though he was not enrolled in the honors program).

In medical school (UTMB Galveston, class of 1980) he won the Chauncey and Elizabeth Leake Award for the Best Essay in Humanities and Medicine, and the New York Life Scholarship twice. During these years he published frequently, including appearances in national magazines such as Eternity, the Christian Medical Society Journal, and Christianity and Literature.

Because a major mood disorder, manic-depression, surfaced in this third year of psychiatric training, he dropped out of the residency and sought treatment, issuing eventually in his first course of ECT. Upon recovery he returned to general practice. His profession as well as his involvement in music limited his publication seeking in his thirties though he never quit writing. Because of chronic spinal problems ("failed back syndrome"), not to mention his bipolar illness, he went on disability in 1996, which gave him the opportunity to concentrate on his writing. It was then that he discovered the literary Web and he embraced the new frontier with gusto. He has had hundreds of pieces published since both in print and on the Net.

His first book of poetry, "Elementary," was published by Edwin Mellen Press in 1997. 2002 saw release of "The Best of Melic: Three Years Online," an anthology culled from The Melic Review, generally considered one of the top literary e-zines, which he co-founded and edited for eight years until its hiatus. Many of his critical essays first appeared in the magazine, including the Logopoetry series. His first book in twelve years, "Unexpected Light: Selected Poems and Love Poems 1998-2008," was released in 2009 by Diminuendo Press to good reviews.

Dr. Chaffin has been included in various anthologies, most recently in "Crazed by the Sun." Journal credits include The Adirondack Review, The Alaska Quarterly Review, Byline, Contrary, The Cortland Review, Envoi, Kimera, Magma, The Philadelphia Inquirer Book Review, Pif, Rattle, The Pedestal Magazine and The New Zealand Review, among many others. He is listed at manic-depressive celebrity sites as well. While living in Long Beach he read frequently at venues in Los Angeles as well as east coast venues by invitation. He’s been the featured poet in over twenty magazines. Online publication links can be found at his website.

In addition to his literary activities, Dr. Chaffin has been a featured speaker for the California Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association and has counseled many writers with affective disorders. He was an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UCI and became a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 1994. As his children are now grown, he lives with his wife and editor, Kathleen Chaffin, in the coastal redwoods of Northern California.

With regard to his poetic theories, he has stated in an interview at Tryst:

"When language forsakes the primary purpose of language, i.e. communication between human beings, it exceeds its medium. A poem should yield some general sense for its audience so that the audience can discuss the work afterwards."

Further, in his essay, Logopoetry II, he states:

"Intelligibility, the acknowledged cooperation of the brain's hemispheres, man's need for meaning, and the idea that language is first a vehicle for communication — these constitute the introductory principles of logopoetry."

Despite his critical pronouncements, he states on the book jacket of "Unexpected Light": "As a poet I won't be held hostage to my theories as a critic."

The introductory paragraph from a 2010 article by Kay Day in The Writer about him is included below, as it is otherwise only available in print:

"Beginning in the mid-1990s a spark took hold on the Web, with poets and writers of other genres coming together to workshop via newsgroups and message boards. As the movement began to expand, a poet emerged and his influence on others' work will remain for years to come. C.E. Chaffin, author of poetry collections and an essay collection that has become a touchstone for many aspiring poets as well as a provoker of debates among established poets, also founded an influential poetry quarterly gathering some of the best writing on the Web. "Influencer" is perhaps the best noun one might assign, after the primary description "poet," to a writer whose mark on thousands of writers is indisputable. Such is the power of the Web as a medium and such is the power of a writer whose skills and intellect are a reminder of the power of independent scholarship."

An analysis of his work exceeds the scope of this article. He has written everything from tightly constructed sonnets "Tectonic Illusion" at Qaartsiluni to expansive, rambling works like "Off Lithium" at Ygdrasil

A large, imposing man at 6 6", Dr. Chaffin feels his best work is done in his readings, where his voice and presence leave a stronger impression than the written page can. A number of recordings are available on the web, for example "Valentine 2008" at Soundzine.

In brief, Dr. Chaffin is one of the strongest literary voices to have emerged on the Web since its inception. Also, as an unapologetic manic-depressive in his blog, he has helped others afflicted with affective disorders, particularly fellow poets.