Try to remember this: what you projectIs what you will perceive; what you perceiveWith any passion, be it love or terror,May take on whims and powers of its own.Therefore a numb and grudging circumspectionWill serve you best — unless you overdo it,Watching your step too narrowly, refusingTo specify a world, shrinking your purviewTo a tight vision of your inching shoes,Which may, as soon as you come to think, be crossingAn unseen gorge upon a rotten trestle.
"Walking to Sleep" (1969)
What you hope forIs that at some point of the pointless journey, Indoors or out, and when you least expect it,Right in the middle of your stride, like that, So neatly that you never feel a thing,The kind assassin Sleep will draw a beadAnd blow your brains out.
"Walking to Sleep" (1969)
What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.
"Opposites" (1973)
A thrush, because I'd been wrong,Burst rightly into songIn a world not vague, not lonely,Not governed by me only.
"Having Misidentified a Wild-Flower"
Founded on rock and facing the night-fouled seaA beacon blinks at its own brilliance,Over and over with cutlass gazeSolving the Gordian waters ...
Richard Purdy Wilbur is an American poet and literary translator. He was appointed the second
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of CongressThe Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the nation's official poet. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of...
in 1987, and twice received the
Pulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
, in 1957 and again in 1989.
Early years
Wilbur was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and grew up in
North Caldwell, New Jersey-Local government:North Caldwell is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office...
. He graduated from
Amherst CollegeAmherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1942 and then served in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1943 to 1945 during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the Army and graduate school at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Wilbur taught at
Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
for two decades and at
Smith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
for another decade. At Wesleyan, he was instrumental in founding the award-winning poetry series of the
University PressWesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and, as of 2011, teaches at
Amherst CollegeAmherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
. He is also on the editorial board of the literary magazine
The CommonThe Common is a nonprofit biannual magazine based at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The magazine publishes stories, poems, essays, and images centered around "a modern sense of place." - History :...
, based at
Amherst CollegeAmherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
. 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
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
comedies of
MolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
and the
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s of
Jean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
. His translation of
TartuffeTartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
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 FrostRobert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
and
W. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, Wilbur's poetry finds illumination in everyday experiences. Less well-known is Wilbur's foray into
lyricLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
writing. He provided lyrics to several songs in
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's 1956 musical,
Candide, including the famous "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow." He has also produced several unpublished works such as "The Wing" and "To Beatrice".
His honors include the 1983
Drama Desk Special AwardThe Drama Desk Special Award is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It is a non-competitive award that honors an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway,...
for his translation of
The MisanthropeThe Misanthrope is the first EP from metal band Darkest Hour. It was released in 1996 on the defunct label Death Truck Records. It is much more hardcore orientated metalcore unlike their later releases.- Track listing :# "Vise" - 5:30...
, the
Pulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
and the
National Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
, both in 1957, the Edna St Vincent Millay award, the
Bollingen PrizeThe Bollingen Prize for Poetry, which is currently awarded every two years by Beinecke Library of Yale University, is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.-Inception and controversy:The...
, and the Chevalier, Ordre National des Palmes Académiques. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1959. In 1987 Wilbur became the second poet, after
Robert Penn WarrenRobert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the influential literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935...
, to be named
U.S. Poet LaureateThe Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the nation's official poet. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of...
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. On October 14, 1994, he received the
National Medal of ArtsThe National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
from President
ClintonBill Clinton is the 42nd President of the United States. William Clinton may also refer to:*William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon , English nobleman from prominent Norman family dating to William the Conqueror; Lord High Admiral as of 1333*William Henry Clinton , British general from...
. In 2006, Wilbur won the
Ruth Lilly Poetry PrizeThe Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is awarded annually by The Poetry Foundation; the Foundation also publishes Poetry. The Prize was established in 1986 by Ruth Lilly. The prize honors a living U.S. poet whose "lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition"; its value is presently $100,000...
. In 2010 he won the
National Translation AwardThe National Translation Award is an annual prize given by the American Literary Translators Association to an exceptional translation of a book-length work published in the preceding calendar year. As of 2010 the prize is worth $5,000...
for the translation of
The Theatre of Illusion by
Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
.
Translated from Molière
- The Misanthrope (1955/1666)
- Tartuffe (1963/1669)
- The School for Wives (1971/1662)
- The Learned Ladies (1978/1672)
- School for Husbands (1992/1661)
- The Imaginary Cuckold, or Sganarelle (1993/1660)
- Amphitryon
Amphitryon is a French language comedy in a prologue and 3 Acts by Molière which is based on the story of the Greek mythological character Amphitryon as told by Plautus in his play from ca. 190-185 B.C. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 13 January 1668...
(1995/1668)
- The Bungler (2000/1655)
- Don Juan (2001/1665)
- Lovers' Quarrels (2009/1656)
From Jean Racine
- Andromache (1982/1667)
- Phaedra (1986/1677)
- The Suitors (2001/1668)
From Pierre Corneille
- The Theatre of Illusion (2007/1636)
- Le Cid (2009/1636)
- The Liar (2009/1643)
Poetry collections
- The Beautiful Changes, and Other Poems (1947)
- Ceremony, and Other Poems (1950)
- A Bestiary (1955)
- Things of This World (Harcourt, 1956) Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
1957 National Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
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 for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
1989
- Mayflies: New Poems and Translations (2000)
- Collected Poems, 1943–2004 (2004)
- Anterooms (2010)
Prose collections
- Responses: Prose Pieces, 1953–1976 (Harcourt, 1976)
- The Catbird's Song: Prose Pieces, 1963–1995 (Harcourt, 1997)
External links