7 Must-Read James Wright Poems

James Wright was an American poet whose first collection, The Green Wall, was published in 1956. It was awarded the Yale Younger Poets Prize, an incredible accomplishment. He was influenced by the Spanish surrealists and often experimented with meter. His writing set him apart from his more popular contemporaries in the New York Schools and among the Beat poets.

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Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota

‘Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota’ by James Wright describes a speaker’s new appreciation for the countryside. They find themselves so attached to it that they suggest they’ve wasted their life not living there.

James Wright’s poetry, including ‘Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota,’ often uses clear and simple language to express deep feelings about life and nature. His work reflects a connection to rural life and personal reflection. In this poem, the speaker is resting in a hammock, observing the peaceful surroundings, and comes to the realization that their life might have been lived in the wrong way.

Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,

Asleep on the black trunk,

Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.

Down the ravine behind the empty house,

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A Blessing

‘A Blessing’ by James Wright describes Wright traveling with his friend and fellow poet Robert Bly and a moment where the two pulled off the highway to admire horses, just like in the text of the poem.

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,

Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.

And the eyes of those two Indian ponies

Darken with kindness.

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Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio

‘Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio’ by James Wright is a poem about working-class men attending a football game to watch their sons.

In the Shreve High football stadium,

I think of Polacks nursing long beers in Tiltonsville,

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Beautiful Ohio

‘Beautiful Ohio’ by James Wright finds beauty in industrial Ohio, celebrating human labor and communal spirit.

Those old Winnebago men

Knew what they were singing.

All summer long and all alone,

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Complaint

‘Complaint’ is one of the early poems of James Wright with a conventional form and meter. This poem is about a rural folk’s dissatisfaction with her dead wife’s absence.

She's gone. She was my love, my moon or more.

She chased the chickens out and swept the floor,

Emptied the bones and nut-shells after feasts,

And smacked the kids for leaping up like beasts.

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In Response to a Rumor That the Oldest Whorehouse in Wheeling, West Virginia Has Been Condemned

Wright’s poem ‘In Response to a Rumor That the Oldest Whorehouse in Wheeling, West Virginia Has Been Condemned’ describes how a speaker finds the evening scene of a whorehouse quite fascinating and fairy-tale-like.

I will grieve alone,

As I strolled alone, years ago, down along

The Ohio shore.

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Northern Pike

‘Northern Pike’ by James Wright is a beautiful poem written from the perspective of a man on a fishing trip.

We prayed for the road home.

We ate the fish.

There must be something very beautiful in my body,

I am so happy.

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7 Must-Read James Wright Poems

Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota

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