Richard Wilbur
American poet (1921-2017) · United States · On the map · Writers · Died at 96
Richard Purdy Wilbur was an American poet and literary translator, and one of the foremost poets of the World War II generation. Wilbur's work, often employing rhyme, and composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentlemanly elegance.
Richard Wilbur is read about 40 times a day, in 24 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
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About this person
He was acclaimed in his youth as the heir to Robert Frost, translated the verse dramas of Moliere, Corneille, and Racine into rhymed English, collaborated with Leonard Bernstein as the lyricist for the opera Candide, and in his old age acted, particularly through his role in the annual West Chester University Poetry Conference, as a mentor to the younger poets of the New Formalist movement. He was appointed the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987 and received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice, in 1957 and 1989.
Where to find them
The same award as Richard
Gwendolyn BrooksBoth received United States Poet Laureate
Charles SimicBoth received PEN Translation Prize
John AshberyBoth received Shelley Memorial Award
Robert Penn WarrenBoth received Shelley Memorial Award
Philip LevineBoth received Wallace Stevens Award
W. S. MerwinBoth received PEN Translation Prize