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Technically, Wright was an innovator, especially in the use of his titles, first lines, and last lines, which he used to great dramatic effect in defense of the lives of the disenfranchised. He is equally well known for his tender depictions of the bleak landscapes of the post-industrial
American
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Wright had discovered a terse, imagistic, free verse of clarity, and power. During the next ten years Wright would go on to pen some of the most beloved and frequently anthologized masterpieces of the century, such as "A Blessing," "Autumn Begins in
Martins Ferry, Ohio," and "I Am a Sioux Indian
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in 1952. That year, Wright married
Liberty Kardules, another Martins Ferry native. Wright subsequently spent a year in Vienna on a Fulbright Fellowship, returning to the U.S. where he obtained a master's and a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, studying with
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Wright's early poetry is relatively conventional in form and meter, especially compared with his later, looser poetry. Although most of his fame comes from his original poetry, Wright made a contribution to another area of literary modernism: the translation.
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His dark moods and focus on emotional suffering were part of his life and often the focus of his poetry, although given the emotional turmoil he experienced personally, his poems can be optimistic in expressing a faith in life and human transcendence. In
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Storlie, Erik F. Go Deep & Take Plenty of Root: A Prairie-Norwegian Father, Rebellion in
Minneapolis, Basement Zen, Growing Up, Growing Tender. Recollections of James Wright, Chapters 6–11. Createspace
295:. By the early 1960s, increasingly influenced by the Spanish language surrealists, Wright had dropped fixed meters. His transformation achieved its maximum expression with the publication of the seminal
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Wright was a lifelong smoker, and was diagnosed in late 1979 with cancer of the tongue. He died a few months later in
Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. His last book of new poems,
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was also a poet; Franz won the
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2004. Together, James and Franz are the only parent/child pair to have won a Pulitzer Prize in the same category.
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Since his death, Wright has developed a cult following, transforming him into a seminal writer of significant influence. Fellow
Pulitzer prize for poetry winner
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After graduating from high school, Wright enlisted in the U.S. Army and participated in the occupation of Japan. Following his discharge, he attended
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wrote "Three Poems for James Wright" upon his death, and hundreds of writers gathered annually for decades to pay tribute at the
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His work with translations of German and South
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This transformation had not come by accident, as Wright had been working for years with his friend
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His poetry often deals with the disenfranchised, or the
American outsider. Wright suffered from
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won the
Pulitzer Prize. In addition to his other awards, Wright received a grant from the
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The Delicacy and Strength of Lace: Letters Between Leslie Marmon Silko and James Wright.
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Magill, Frank N. Critical Survey of Poetry. Vol. 8. Pasadena: Salem, 1992. Print.
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In addition to his own poetry, he also published loose translations of
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Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota
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James Wright, In Defense Against This Exile. Letters To Wayne Burns.
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Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota
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Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota
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and aligned him more with emergent Midwestern neo-surrealist and
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299:(1963), which positioned Wright as curious counterpoint to the
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676:"An Ecstatic, Troubled Poet Comes to Life in a New Biography"
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Biography and critical commentary at Modern American Poetry
244:(December 13, 1927 – March 25, 1980) was an American poet.
726:, Modern American Poetry website, accessed April 19, 2008
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Wright first emerged on the literary scene in 1956 with
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Solitary Apprenticeship: James Wright and German Poetry
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A Wild Perfection: The Selected Letters of James Wright
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Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
252:James Wright was born and spent his childhood in
463:Unless otherwise noted, year is when published:
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742:(Lewiston, Maine: Edwin Mellen Press, 1996).
415:" famously reads, "I have wasted my life."
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769:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
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399:, was hospitalized, and was subjected to
395:his entire life. He experienced several
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
777:"James Wright, The Art of Poetry No. 19"
760:Mr. James Wright reading a poem of his.
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494:Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio
47:adding citations to reliable sources
724:"James Wright: Biographical Sketch"
571:Above the River, The Complete Poems
1117:20th-century American male writers
512:(Wesleyan University Press, 1971)
490:(Wesleyan University Press, 1963)
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1092:Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners
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344:, was published posthumously by
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1102:University of Minnesota faculty
1097:University of Washington alumni
1057:People from Martins Ferry, Ohio
583:University Press of New England
446:held from 1981 through 2007 in
34:needs additional citations for
775:Peter A. Stitt (Summer 1975).
1:
526:Moments of the Italian Summer
267:, and published poems in the
263:on the GI Bill, studied with
1082:People with bipolar disorder
674:McHenry, Eric (2017-11-22),
618:James Wright Poetry Festival
500:Shall We Gather at the River
444:James Wright Poetry Festival
1122:United States Army soldiers
1062:20th-century American poets
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1107:Yale Younger Poets winners
1077:Macalester College faculty
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819:Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
587:Wesleyan University Press
555:(1982; completed in 1980)
540:Farrar, Straus and Giroux
536:To a Blossoming Pear Tree
520:Farrar, Straus and Giroux
504:Wesleyan University Press
488:The Branch Will Not Break
482:Wesleyan University Press
459:Published in his lifetime
409:The Branch Will Not Break
366:The Branch Will Not Break
297:The Branch Will Not Break
229:The Branch Will Not Break
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16:American poet (1927–1980)
293:Yale Younger Poets Prize
199:University of Washington
58:"James Wright" poet
903:William Carlos Williams
1067:Hunter College faculty
547:Published posthumously
433:Rockefeller Foundation
389:bipolar mood disorders
242:James Arlington Wright
143:James Arlington Wright
1072:Kenyon College alumni
472:Yale University Press
423:Influence and awards
401:electroshock therapy
43:improve this article
1112:American male poets
783:. Summer 1975 (62).
559:The Temple at Nîmes
254:Martins Ferry, Ohio
171:New York City, U.S.
155:Martins Ferry, Ohio
873:Robert Penn Warren
843:Archibald MacLeish
680:The New York Times
646:About James Wright
573:, introduction by
397:nervous breakdowns
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951:William S. Merwin
722:Brunner, Edward,
496:—Broadside (1963)
391:and also battled
265:John Crowe Ransom
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218:Deep image poetry
214:Literary movement
152:December 13, 1927
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32:This article
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957:James Wright
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939:George Oppen
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683:, retrieved
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553:This Journey
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516:Two Citizens
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342:This Journey
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335:Franz Wright
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167:(1980-03-25)
125:James Wright
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1052:1980 deaths
1047:1927 births
975:Gary Snyder
927:Anne Sexton
821:(1951–1975)
575:Donald Hall
530:Dryad Press
478:Saint Judas
440:Mary Oliver
324:The Sixties
320:The Fifties
99:August 2016
1041:Categories
897:Alan Dugan
733:References
685:2020-12-25
652:2020-12-25
623:Deep image
393:alcoholism
385:depression
362:Robert Bly
316:Robert Bly
309:deep image
176:Occupation
148:1927-12-13
69:newspapers
1025:2001–2025
1018:1976–2000
1011:1951–1975
1004:1922–1950
767:from the
427:His 1972
419:Midwest.
374:René Char
311:poetics.
186:Education
612:See also
378:hermetic
589:, 1990)
542:, 1977)
532:, 1976)
522:, 1973)
506:, 1967)
484:, 1959)
474:, 1957)
380:poems.
322:(later
83:scholar
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585:, and
561:(1982)
352:Poetry
157:, U.S.
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749:2013.
629:Notes
454:Works
301:Beats
90:JSTOR
76:books
387:and
303:and
280:and
248:Life
180:Poet
162:Died
140:Born
62:news
376:'s
231:; "
207:PhD
45:by
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