External Websites

The following links to external websites provide more information about the life and works of Charles Wright.

For a more extensive bibliography that "provides a record of Wright’s substantial body of work through 2014 and of the things that have been written about that work—books, articles, reviews," see A Charles Wright Bibliography [PDF], compiled by Robert D. Denham, Fishwick Professor of English, Emeritus, Roanoke College

Biographical information about Charles Wright also can be found on the following websites:

Academy of American Poets External
Biography of Charles Wright and more than a dozen poems. Recordings of several poems are available.
Blackbird Journal External
Biography of Charles Wright, several poems, and audio recording of a 2008 reading from Blackbird.
Charles Wright Collection, 1975-2001 External
Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.
Charles Wright Papers External
Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.
The New Yorker External
A selection of poems by Wright appearing in The New Yorker.
PBS NewsHour External
A collection of stories and videos featuring Charles Wright from PBS NewsHour.
Poetry Foundation External
Biography of Charles Wright, along with several poems, audio recordings, articles, and more.
Virginia Quarterly Review External
A collection of poems by Wright appearing in the Virginia Quarterly Review.

For the latest news and discussions related to Charles Wright, see:

A selected list of news articles, interviews, and conversations, arranged in chronological order, follows below:

"U.S. Poet Laureate Reads His Work At ETSU" External
The Greeneville Sun. November 11, 2017
"Former U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Wright Gives Reading" External
The Emory Wheel. October 5, 2015
"A Pair of Poets Laureate for the Price of One" External
The Washington Post. May 1, 2015
"Charlottesville’s Wright begins Term as U.S. Poet Laureate" External
The Daily Progress. September 27, 2014
"U.S. Poet Laureate Says Poetry is His Life's Pivot" External
The Washington Post. September 28, 2014
"The New Poet Laureate: 'Keep Your Mouth Half-shut'" External
USA Today. September 26, 2014
"Charles Wright: United States Poet Laureate and My Teacher" External
KCET. June 16, 2014
"Charles Wright: The Contemplative Poet Laureate" External
NPR. June 13, 2014
"What Does a Poet Laureate Do, Anyway?" External
Speakeasy blog. The Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2014
"Constant Freshness" External
Paris Review Daily (blog). June 12, 2014
"Who Is Charles Wright, the New Poet Laureate?" External
TIME. June 12, 2014
"Charles Wright Named Poet Laureate" External
USA Today. June 12, 2014
""Charles Wright, Former U-Va. Professor and Author, is Named New U.S. Poet Laureate" External
The Washington Post. June 12, 2014
"Charles Wright Named America’s Poet Laureate" External
The New York Times. June 12, 2014
"Black to Green to Gone: The Lyric Moment in Wright’s 'Tattoos'" External
The Kenyon Review. July 20, 2012
"Fresh Fire: On Charles Wright and Robert Pinsky" External
Idiom. April 12, 2011
National Book Award blog entry on Wright External
April 5, 2011
"Show Me the "Show Me the World" External
Comment magazine. July 30, 2010
"U.Va. Profiles: 'Charles Wright's Interior Landscape'" External
UVA Today. February 4, 2008
"Confessions of St. Charles: Confession as Spiritual Autobiography in the Work of Charles Wright" External
Valparaiso Poetry Review. Fall/Winter 2003
"Everywhere But His Own Country: Three Essays on Charles Wright and the American South" External
Asheville Poetry Review. October 25, 2002
"Philip Levine on Charles Wright’s Chickamauga" External
Academy of American Poets. 1996
"Charles Wright, The Art of Poetry No. 41" External
The Paris Review no. 113 (Winter II 1989)
"Interview with Charles Wright" External
Iowa Journal of Literary Studies. 1986

Radio podcasts and other audio recordings featuring Charles Wright are listed below.

Radio Programs

"U.S. Poet Laureate Reading Fall Poem, 'Ancient of Days'" External
All Things Considered, NPR. September 25, 2014 (5:00)
"New Poet Laureate: 'The Meaning Has Always Stayed The Same'" External
NPR. June 12, 2014 (4:00)
"Virginia Conversations: Poetry & Prose" External
Virginia Public Radio. October 4, 2013 (57:00)

Other Audio

“Natasha Trethewey Reads Charles Wright” External
The New Yorker Podcast. June 19, 2019.
"Speaking for the Country" External
Poetry Off the Shelf podcast, Poetry Foundation. June 18, 2019 (23:41)
"'A Code with No Message': Poet Charles Wright on Writing and Reading Poems" External
Poetry Off the Shelf podcast, Poetry Foundation. April 8, 2015 (14:10)
Reading "Long Ago and Far Away" External
The Cortland Review. Winter 2012
"A Reading by Charles Wright" External
Blackbird. November 5, 2003 reading at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Poetry Foundation External
Includes a 2008 "Essential American Poets" recording of Wright in Charlottesville, VA, as well as several Poem of the Day recordings: "Clear Night"; "Reunion"; "Spider Crystal Ascension"; and "Stone Canyon Nocturne"
Reading "Stone Canyon Nocture" External
The Poetry Archive

Many videos of Charles Wright reading and discussing his work can be found through the following sources listed below.

YouTube Search External
Search results for Charles Wright
Charles Wright External
Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice at Georgetown University. March 26, 2013 (50:30)
"Charles Wright Reads 'No Angel'" External
PBS NewsHour. March 1, 2011 (00:35)
"Charles Wright Reads 'Hasta la Vista Buckaroo'" External
PBS NewsHour. March 1, 2011 (00:34)
"Charles Wright Reads 'When the Horses Gallup Away from Us, It's a Good Thing'" External
PBS NewsHour. March 1, 2011 (00:38)
"Charles Wright Reads 'Together'" External
PBS NewsHour. March 1, 2011 (00:30)
Charles Wright External
National Book Critics Circle Nominee Readings, C-SPAN. March 23, 1998 (10:12)

The following is a list of citations of awards Charles Wright has received for his poetry.

2013 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry External
For Bye-and-Bye
2007 Griffin Poetry Prize External
For Scar Tissue
1998 Pulitzer Prize External
For Black Zodiac
1997 National Book Critics Circle Award External
For Black Zodiac
1996 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize External
For Chickamauga
1983 National Book Award External
For Country Music: Selected Early Poems

Charles Wright, U.S. Poet Laureate: A Resource Guide

General Inquiries: Ask a Librarian

External Websites

Radio Programs

Other Audio

Oblivion Banjo: The Poetry of Charles Wright (2019)

Caribou (2014)

Bye-and-Bye: Selected Late Poems (2011)

Outtakes: Sestets (2010)

Sestets: Poems (2009)

Littlefoot (2007)

Scar Tissue (2006)

Buffalo Yoga (2004)

A Short History of the Shadow (2002)

Negative Blue: Selected Later Poems (2000)

Appalachia (1998)

Black Zodiac (1997)

Zone Journals (1988)

The Southern Cross (1981)

Hard Freight (1973)