The Writer

“The Writer” is an 11-stanza poem by former American poet laureate Richard Wilbur. It originally appeared in his 1976 collection The Mind Reader. The poem was specifically written about Wilbur’s experience with his young daughter, Ellen Wilbur, then a budding writer herself. It explores themes of family, artistic living, freedom, constraint, and coming of age.

Poet Biography

Richard Wilbur was an American poet, literary translator, and lyricist who served as the second poet laureate of the United States. Considered an artistic descendant of Robert Frost, Wilbur’s work draws from traditional poetic forms and the natural world.

Wilbur was born in New York in 1921, publishing his first poem at the age of eight in John Martin's Magazine. He went on to study at Amherst College. After graduating, Wilbur spent three years in the army during World War II before returning to study at Harvard University. In 1947, the same year as his graduation, he published his first full-length poetry collection: The Beautiful Changes and Other Poems.

He went on to have a long teaching career at Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, and Smith College. During this time, Wilbur was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, in 1957 and 1989, as well as numerous other accolades, including the National Book Award for Poetry, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal, and poet laureateship from 1987 to 1988. He also worked extensively with French translation and was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for Molière’s The Misanthrope.

Richard Wilbur is largely remembered for his work establishing the Wesleyan University Press poetry series, which created avenues for a range of new poets. He also served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1961 to 1995, and contributed lyrics to some of Leonard Bernstein's work, including the musical Candide. Wilbur died in 2017 at the age of 96.

Poem Text

Wilbur, Richard. “The Writer.” 1969. Poets.org.

Summary

The speaker’s young daughter sits in her room writing a story. The speaker stops outside her door and hears the clattering of typewriter keys. He reflects on how the girl’s life is full of material for a story, but not all of it will be easy to manage; he wishes her luck. The girl stops typing for a moment as she considers her next words.

The speaker is reminded of a day two years before when a bird was trapped inside the girl’s room. Together they snuck inside and opened the window so the bird could escape. It took the bird an hour of flying around frantically before it was able to find the open window and get back outside where it belonged. The speaker considers how the need to escape can be the difference between life and death. He wishes his daughter a full life ahead.