Skip to Content

Richard Wilbur Collection

 Collection — Box: VMF 17, Folder: 3
Identifier: MS-VMF-vmf190

1964 June. Autograph speech for the commencement exercises of Washington University. Pencil with moderate manuscript revision, 8 pages

1985 July 9. Typed letter signed from Wilbur to Barbara Rea, Washington University Libraries BookMark Society, declining an invitation to read in St. Louis, 1 page

Dates

  • Creation: 1964-1985

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open

Conditions Governing Use

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

2.00 items

1 folders

Biographical Information

Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 - October 14, 2017) is an American poet and literary translator. Wilbur was born in New York City and grew up in North Caldwell, New Jersey.  He graduated from Montclair High School in 1938, having worked on the school newspaper as a student. He graduated from Amherst College in 1942 and then served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. After the Army and graduate school at Harvard University, Wilbur taught at Wesleyan University for two decades and at Smith College for another decade. At Wesleyan, he was instrumental in founding the award-winning poetry series of the University Press.  He teaches at Amherst College and is also on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common, based at Amherst College.

Wilbur published his first poem in John Martin's Magazine at eight years old. His first book, The Beautiful Changes and Other Poems, appeared in 1947. Continuing the tradition of Robert Frost and W. H. Auden, Wilbur's poetry finds illumination in everyday experiences. He has published several volumes of poetry, including Things of This World (1956) for which he won both the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award and New and Collected Poems (1989) for which he won a second Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Wilbur is also a translator, specializing in the 17th century French comedies of Molière and the dramas of Jean Racine. His translation of Tartuffe has become the standard English version of the play.  Less well-known is Wilbur's foray into lyric writing. He provided lyrics to several songs in Leonard Bernstein's 1956 musical, Candide, including the famous "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow." He has also produced several unpublished works such as "The Wing" and "To Beatrice."

In 1987, Wilbur became the second poet, after Robert Penn Warren, to be named U.S. Poet Laureate after the position's title was changed from Poetry Consultant.

Source of Acquisition

Accession number 1873. (Typed letter signed to Rea only) Gift of Barbara Rea, April 22, 1991

Processing Information

Processed September 1969

Title
Richard Wilbur Collection
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng

Revision Statements

  • 2021 March 19: Resource record updated in ArchiveSpace by Sarah Schnuriger.

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Manuscripts Collecting Area

Contact:
Joel Minor
Olin Library, 1 Brookings Drive
MSC 1061-141-B
St. Louis MO 63130 US
(314) 935-5495