One of my favorite poets is Richard Wilbur. I came across a review of his poem, The Mind Reader, in the LA Times and bought the book. I had already read his poem, Beasts, in an anthology called TODAY'S POETS for a college English class. I later taught his poem, The Writer, to my English classes at Pikes Peak Community College.
His diverse subject matter always fascinated me: an intellectual who could actually read minds and was the worse for it, a werewolf in the city at full moon, his daughter attempting to become a writer herself.
His diverse subject matter always fascinated me: an intellectual who could actually read minds and was the worse for it, a werewolf in the city at full moon, his daughter attempting to become a writer herself.
My favorite line from The Mind Reader is the first: "Some things are truly lost."
My favorite line from Beasts: "The ripped mouse, safe in the owl's talon, cries / Concordance."
My favorite line from The Writer: "It lifted off from a chair-back, / Beating a smooth course for the right window / And clearing the sill of the world."
His poems are always clear and concise, his words wondrous and precise. Poets and poetry are meant to be shared with classes and with friends. And with you now.
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