November 11, 1927 [Los Angeles, California] – March 26, 1988 [Los Angeles, California]
Coulette was born in Los Angeles, California, and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1952 from Los Angeles State College, now known as California State University, Los Angeles. He earned a doctorate at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His first book, The War of the Secret Agents and Other Poems, was published by Scribner in 1965 and won the Lamont Poetry Prize. His follow-up, The Family Goldschmitt, was published in 1971, but the publisher accidentally pulped the volume, possibly contributing to its relative lack of attention. This was the final book published during his lifetime. Coulette spent nearly his entire career as a faculty member at California State University, Los Angeles where he as an influential teacher. Donald Justice and Robert Mezey edited and published Coulette’s collected poetry, including work planned for a third volume in 1990.
