Richard Wilbur, U.S. Poet Laureate: A Resource Guide
American poet Richard Wilbur served as U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry from 1987-1988 at the Library of Congress. This guide provides access to selected print and online resources related to Wilbur’s life and work.
Anne Holmes, Digital Content Manager, Literary Initiatives
Peter Armenti, Reference Specialist, Researcher and Reference Services Division
Created: November 13, 2020
Last Updated: November 13, 2020
Introduction
U.S. Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur. 1987-1988. Photo credit: Stathis Orphanos.
On April 17, 1987, Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin appointed Richard Wilbur the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. In making the appointment, Boorstin said:
We are fortunate that there is a Richard Wilbur to serve as successor to Robert Penn Warren as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry in the Library of Congress. He is a poet for us all, whose elegant words brim with wit and paradox. He is also a poet's poet, at home in the long tradition and traveled ways of the great poets of our language. And he is a cosmopolitan citizen of the world of letters, whose essays and translations help us to the poets of other languages. His poems are among the best our country has to offer.