The Essential C.D. Wright

Spanning four decades of writing--and including never-before-seen poems--The Essential C.D. Wright carries the reverence and wisecracking lyricism of poems that reshaped American poetry.

The Essential C.D. Wright gathers rare selections across the famed poet’s entire oeuvre--from the first book, Alla Breve Loving (1976), through to ShallCross, which was in production at the time of her unexpected death in 2016. Tracing a writing life that spans more than four decades, this essential collection illuminates works that remain empowered by an unrelenting independence, a reverence for mentors, and wry, wisecracking lyricism. A formally restless, energetic, uncompromising, and utterly unique voice, C.D. Wright introduced a contemporary audience to the promise and power of docupoetics, while pushing the musical boundaries of vernacular speech and reshaping American poetry. With a moving introduction by Forrest Gander, this volume cements C.D. Wright’s place in the literary canon.

Born on the Epiphany and raised in the Ozarks, C.D. Wright’s (1949-2016) experimental, ethnographic voice established her as one of her generation’s most influential poets. Traveling throughout the U.S. and Mexico, coming to live with Forrest Gander, Wright consistently resolved to ＂sharpen＂ the Arkansas in her, remaining committed to her Southern roots. Through lyric, Wright’s work critically investigated and examined American physical and human geographies, and maintained a close relationship to those who peopled her life. Recognized with fellowships from the MacArthur, Lannan, the Guggenheim foundations, and many others, organizations have established awards in her name, a testament to her immeasurable contributions to the literary landscape. Publishing sixteen collections of poetry and prose, serving on the faculty at Brown University for decades, and editing Lost Road Publishers, Wright, according to The New York Times, ＂belongs to a school of exactly one.＂

Forrest Gander was born in the Mojave Desert and lives in California. He taught at Harvard University and Brown University. Gander is a translator and the author of many books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. He has received a Pulitzer Prize, the Best Translated Book Award, and fellowships from the Library of Congress, the Guggenheim, Whiting, and United States Artists Foundations.

Michael Wiegers has been editing books for Copper Canyon Press since 1993, and currently serves as the Press’s Executive Editor & Artistic Director. Most recently, he edited two anthologies of Copper Canyon Press poetry: A House Called Tomorrow: 50 Years of Poetry and Come Shining: More Poems and Stories from Fifty Years of Copper Canyon Press. He is also the poetry editor of Narrative magazine and edited What About This: The Collected Poems of Frank Stanford, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and The Essential W.S. Merwin. He is currently at work on a book about the poet W.S. Merwin and serves as a trustee for the Merwin Conservancy.