Charles Wright in Conversation

Because Charles Wright occupies a large space in contemporary American poetry, it is only natural that his readers over the years have wanted to engage him in conversation and discover more about his career and inspirations. In this collection of richly detailed interviews conducted between 1979 and 2006, Wright eloquently discusses a range of topics, including the beginning of his poetic career in Italy, his experiences at the University of Iowa, the American and European influences on his work, contemporary poets he admires, his place in Southern literature, the art of translating poetry, and such formal matters as his lineation and rhythmic phrasing, his use of syllabics, and the development of his characteristic style. An extensive bibliography of writings by and about Wright supplements the interviews.

Robert D. Denham is John P. Fishwick Professor of English Emeritus at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. He has also taught at Emory & Henry College, after which he served as Director of English Programs and Director of the Association of Departments of English for the Modern Language Association. He has written and edited more than twenty-five volumes on Frye.

Robert D. Denham

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 183
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3965-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8258-0
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Abbreviations and Shortened Forms      3
A Charles Wright Chronology      5

1. An Interview by David St. John      11
2. An Interview by David Remnick      21
3. Charles Wright on Eugenio Montale and Dino Campana: An Interview by Mary Zeppa      29
4. “Metaphysics of the Quotidian”: A Conversation with Stan Sanvel Rubin and William Heyen      37
5. A Conversation with Miriam Marty Clark and Michael McFee      49
6. An Interview by J.D. McClatchy      59
7. An Interview by Ernest Suarez and Amy Verner      65
8. An Interview by Andrew Zawacki      83
9. An Interview by Troy Teegarden      93
10. Through Purgatory to Appalachia: An Interview by Martin Caseley      97
11. An Interview by Willard Spiegelman      105
12. An Interview by Ted Genoways      119
13. An Interview by Morgan Lucas Schuldt      127
14. Oblivion’s Glow: The (Post)Southern Sides of Charles Wright—An Interview by Daniel Cross Turner      133
15. An Interview by Louis Bourgeois      143

Notes      149
A Selected Bibliography      155
Index      171

“anyone who is interested in poetry will find a wealth of material to digest in these pages”—Appalachian Journal