Carolyn D. Wright facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carolyn D. Wright
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| Born |
Carolyn Doris Wright
January 6, 1949 |
| Died | January 12, 2016 (aged 67) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Memphis, University of Arkansas |
| Occupation | Poet, professor |
| Known for | MacArthur Fellowship |
Carolyn D. Wright (born January 6, 1949 – died January 12, 2016) was an American poet. She was known for her unique writing style and for winning many important awards. These included the MacArthur Fellowship and being named the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island. This means she was the official poet for the state.
Contents
About C. D. Wright
Early Life and Education
C. D. Wright was born in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Her father was a judge and her mother worked as a court reporter.
She studied French at Memphis State University, which is now the University of Memphis. She earned her degree in 1971. After that, she briefly went to law school. However, she decided to leave law school to study poetry. She earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the University of Arkansas in 1976. Her master's project was a collection of poems called Alla Breve Loving.
Starting Her Career
In 1977, a publishing company called Lost Roads Publishers released Wright's first book of poems. It was titled Room Rented by A Single Woman. This company was started by a poet named Frank Stanford.
After Stanford passed away in 1978, Wright took over Lost Roads Publishers. She continued its goal of publishing new poets. She also started publishing translated works. In 1979, she moved to San Francisco. There, she met another poet named Forrest Gander. Wright and Gander got married in 1983. They had a son named Brecht. Both Wright and Gander worked together as editors at Lost Roads until 2005.
Moving to Rhode Island
In 1981, Wright and Gander moved to Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico. While living there, she finished her third book of poems. It was called Translation of the Gospel Back into Tongues.
In 1983, they moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Wright began teaching English at Brown University. She was a professor there for over 30 years. During this time, she won many major American literary awards. These included special grants from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations. She also published many different kinds of poetry books.
Some of her most important books were Deepstep Come Shining, One Big Self, and One With Others. These books explored themes like the American South, race relations, and people in prison. They also focused on the lives of ordinary people whose stories might not otherwise be told. These books helped to shape a new style of poetry called "documentary poetics." This style uses facts and research to tell stories through poems. In 2013, Wright was chosen as a leader for the Academy of American Poets.
Her Later Years
C.D. Wright passed away on January 12, 2016. This was just six days after her 67th birthday. Her brother, Warren Wright, said she "died peacefully in her sleep." This was due to a blood clot after a long flight from Chile. At the time of her death, she was living in Barrington, Rhode Island.
Her Poetry Style
Themes and Ideas
Wright's poetry often feels connected to a specific place and time. She frequently used different voices in her poems, especially those from the American South. Her work was very creative in its form. It also aimed to document and honor the stories of people whose voices might otherwise be forgotten.
She mixed different kinds of language in surprising ways. Her poems included phrases from other languages, hints at other poems, and bits of everyday conversation. Her books included short, clear poems, like those in Tremble. She also wrote longer poems, starting with Just Whistle. This book was a collaboration with photographer Deborah Luster.
Important Works
Wright created literary maps for both Rhode Island and Arkansas. Her later works include String Light and Deepstep Come Shining, which is a book-length poem. Another important work was One Big Self: Prisoners of Louisiana. This was another collaboration with photographer Deborah Luster. A version called One Big Self: An Investigation contained only the poems.
Her poems are featured in many collections, such as American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006). Her book One With Others combined reporting, history, and poetry. It explored civil rights events in her home state of Arkansas. It also highlighted the role of her mentor in a 1969 March Against Fear. After Wright's death in 2016, two more books were published. These were The Poet, the Lion, Talking Pictures, El Farolito, a Wedding in St. Roch, the Big Box Store, the Warp in the Mirror, Spring, Midnights, Fire & All (a collection of essays) and ShallCross (a book of poems).
Awards and Recognition
- 1987 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1989 Whiting Award
- 1994-99 Poet Laureate of the state of Rhode Island
- 1999 Foundation for Contemporary Arts, grant
- 2004 MacArthur Fellowship
- 2005 Robert Creeley Award
- 2009 Rising, Falling, Hovering winner Griffin Poetry Prize
- 2010 One With Others, finalist, National Book Award (Poetry)
- 2010 One With Others, winner, National Book Critics Circle Award (Poetry)
- 2011 One With Others, winner, Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
List of Her Books
This list of works comes mostly from C. D. Wright's page on the Academy of American Poets website.
- 1977: Room Rented By A Single Woman (Lost Roads)
- 1979: Terrorism (Lost Roads)
- 1981: Translation of the Gospel Back into Tongues (State University of New York Press)
- 1986: Further Adventures with You (Carnegie Mellon University Press)
- 1991: String Light (University of Georgia Press)
- 1993: Just Whistle: A Valentine (Kelsey Street Press) - with photographs by Deborah Luster
- 1996: Tremble (Ecco)
- 1998: Deepstep Come Shining (Copper Canyon Press)
- 2002: Steal Away: New and Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press) [shortlisted for the 2003 International Griffin Poetry Prize]
- 2003: One Big Self: Prisoners of Louisiana (Twin Palms) – with photographs by Deborah Luster
- 2005: Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil (Copper Canyon Press)
- 2007: One Big Self: An Investigation (Copper Canyon Press)
- 2008: Rising, Falling, Hovering (Copper Canyon Press) [winner of the 2009 International Griffin Poetry Prize]
- 2009: 40 Watts (Octopus Books)
- 2010: One With Others [[a little book of her days]] (Copper Canyon Press)
- 2011: Jean Valentine Abridged: Writing a Word; Changing It (Albion Press)
- 2012: The Other Hand (Horse Less Press)
- 2016: The Poet, The Lion, Talking Pictures, El Farolito, A Wedding in St. Roch, The Big Box Store, The Warp in the Mirror, Spring, Midnights, Fire & All (Copper Canyon Press) – essays
- 2016: ShallCross (Copper Canyon Press)
