Charles Wright (poet)
Encyclopedia
Charles Wright is an American poet whose awards include the National Book Award (19830 for Country Music: Selected Early Poems and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1998) for Black Zodiac.
, and attended Davidson College
and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. Wright has been widely published, winning the National Book Award
in 1983 for Country Music: Selected Early Poems and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
in 1998 for Black Zodiac. Other works include Chickamauga, Buffalo Yoga, Negative Blue, Appalachia, The World of the Ten Thousand Things: Poems 1980-1990, Zone Journals and Hard Freight. Wright's work also appears in Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts
.
Wright has published two works of criticism, Halflife and Quarter Notes. His translation of Eugenio Montale
's The Storm and Other Poems won him the PEN Translation Prize in 1979. In 1993, he received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
for his lifetime achievement. From 1966 to 1983, he taught at the University of California, Irvine
. He is now a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets
and Souder Family Professor of English at the University of Virginia
in Charlottesville
.
Life
Wright was born in Pickwick Dam, TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and attended Davidson College
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...
and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. Wright has been widely published, winning the National Book Award
National Book Award
The 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...
in 1983 for Country Music: Selected Early Poems and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
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:...
in 1998 for Black Zodiac. Other works include Chickamauga, Buffalo Yoga, Negative Blue, Appalachia, The World of the Ten Thousand Things: Poems 1980-1990, Zone Journals and Hard Freight. Wright's work also appears in Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts
Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts
Blackbird is an online journal of literature and the arts based in the United States that posts two issues a year, May 1 and November 1. During the six month run of an issue, additional content appears as "featured" content...
.
Wright has published two works of criticism, Halflife and Quarter Notes. His translation of Eugenio Montale
Eugenio Montale
Eugenio Montale was an Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975.- Early years :...
's The Storm and Other Poems won him the PEN Translation Prize in 1979. In 1993, he received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
The 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...
for his lifetime achievement. From 1966 to 1983, he taught at the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
. He is now a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of poetry. The Academy was incorporated as a "membership corporation" in New York State in 1934...
and Souder Family Professor of English at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
.
External links
- Profile at Poetry Foundation
- Profile at Poets.org
- Charles Wright at Macmillan publishing
- Wright profile and poems at the Blackbird journal. Spring 2004. Wright reading 6 November 2007. Volume 7, No. 2 (Fall 2008) (Audio 30 mins)
- "Charles Wright Reads Selected Sestets and Other Poems" 10 December 2009. The New York Review of Books. (Audio)
- Griffin Poetry Prize biography and video
- "Charles Wright: An Interview" by Daniel Cross Turner. storySouth Journal (Summer 2005)