17 pages • 34-minute read
The Writer
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Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“The Beautiful Changes” by Richard Wilbur (1947)
“The Beautiful Changes” is one of Wilbur’s earlier poems. He uses a structured poetic form to express the nature of change and time.
“The Thought Fox” by Ted Hughes (1973)
Hughes’s “The Thought Fox” is a poem about the creative process and finding the right words as a writer.
“A House Called Tomorrow” by Alberto Ríos (2018)
In Ríos’s “A House Called Tomorrow,” the poet issues a call to action for a young writer as they begin their journey through life, following a similar thematic format to “The Writer.”
Further Literary Resources
“Richard Wilbur, The Art of Poetry No. 22” by Peter A. Stitt, Helen McCloy Ellison & Ellesa Clay High (1977)
Interviewees Stitt, Ellison, and High conduct a mid-career interview with Richard Wilbur. The poet discusses his inspiration behind “The Writer” and gives insight into the poetic process for other poems.
“Poetic Patriarch” by Craig Lambert (2008)
This article by Lambert in Harvard Magazine, subtitled “The singular Richard Wilbur displays a ‘Mozartean felicity’ with verse,” provides a detailed exploration of Wilbur’s complex career and poetic style. The article draws on influences from Wilbur’s early life.
“The role of intergenerational family stories in mental health and wellbeing” by Alexa Elias and Adam D. Brown (2022)
This article examines the role of intergenerational creativity and shared family stories in mental wellbeing, providing insight into the shared stories and experiences between the daughter and the father in Wilbur’s “The Writer.”
“Filial Fiction” by Harvard Magazine (2008)
A sub-article to the “Poetic Patriarch” article about Wilbur’s felicitous verse in Harvard Magazine, this article details Ellen Wilbur’s rise as a writer.
Listen to Poem
Richard Wilbur reads “The Writer”
The poet reads his own poem “The Writer” at a private reading in 2005.
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