Richard Wilbur

Richard Purdy Wilbur (born March 1, 1921), is an American poet. He is a former United States Poet Laureate and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Life

Wilbur was born in New York City and grew up in North Caldwell, New Jersey ["Celebrate the life and work of poet Richard Wilbur", "The Berkshire Eagle", June 24, 2005. "Wilbur spent His childhood in North Caldwell, NJ the son of a painter..."] . He graduated from Amherst College in 1942 and then served in the United States Army from 1943 until 1945 during World War II. After the Army and graduate school at Harvard University, Wilbur taught at Wesleyan University for two decades and at Smith College for another decade. He is the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes. He married Charlotte Hayes Ward in 1942 after his graduation from Amherst; she was a student at nearby Smith College.

Career

When only 8 years old, Wilbur published his first poem in "John Martin's Magazine". His first book, "The Beautiful Changes and Other Poems" appeared in 1947. Since then he has published several volumes of poetry, including "New and Collected Poems" (Faber, 1989). Wilbur is also a translator, specializing in the 17th century French comedies of Molière and the dramas of Jean Racine. His translation of "Tartuffe" has become the standard English version of the play, and has been presented on television twice. (A 1978 production is available on DVD.)

Continuing the tradition of Robert Frost and W. H. Auden, Wilbur's poetry finds illumination in everyday experiences.

Less well-known is Wilbur's foray into lyric writing. He provided lyrics to several songs in Leonard Bernstein's 1956 musical, "Candide", including the famous "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow."

His honors include a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, both in 1957, the Edna St Vincent Millay award, the Bollingen Prize, and the Chevalier, Ordre National des Palmes Academiques. In 1987 Wilbur became the second poet, after Robert Penn Warren, to be named U.S. Poet Laureate after the position's title was changed from Poetry Consultant. In 1989 he won a second Pulitzer, this one for his "New and Collected Poems." In 2006, Wilbur won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. He has also produced several unpublished works such as "The Wing" and "To Beatrice".

Bibliography

Poetry

* "The Beautiful Changes, and Other Poems" (1947)
* "Ceremony, and Other Poems" (1950)
* "A Bestiary" (1955)
* "Things of This World" (Harcourt, 1956) Pulitzer Prize 1957 National Book Award 1957
* "Advice to a Prophet, and Other Poems" (1961)
* "Walking to Sleep: New Poems and Translations" (1969)
* "The Mind-Reader: New Poems" (1976)
* "New and Collected Poems" (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) Pulitzer Prize 1989
* "Mayflies: New Poems and Translations" (2000)
* "Collected Poems, 1943–2004" (2004)

Prose

* "Responses: Prose Pieces, 1953–1976" (Harcourt, 1976)
* "The Catbird's Song: Prose Pieces, 1963–1995" (Harcourt, 1997)

Complete bibliography available on the site "Poetry Foundation" [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=7411]

References

External links

* Ernest Hilbert reviews Richard Wilbur's "Collected Poems" for the New York Sun. [http://www.nysun.com/arts/voice-that-stands-alone/5555/]
* Richard Wilbur "is a poet for all of us..." [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=7411] on [http://www.poetryfoundation.org Poetry Foundation]
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* [http://www.poemhunter.com/richard-wilbur/poet-6786/ Online Wilbur poems]
* [http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/wilbur/love.htm Essays on a Wilbur poem]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/ipa/wilbur/ Ibiblio Wilbur page]
* [http://www.theparisreview.org/viewinterview.php/prmMID/3509 "The Paris Review" Interview]