Richard Wilbur CD

1989. Introduced by James Merrill.

Like the poems themselves, Wilbur's performance here is flawless. James Merrill remarks in his introduction that when he first came across the poems of Richard Wilbur he "marvelled at their relish for the world, their openness to intimacy, their good humor, and best of all, their unaffected faith in art."

Wilbur reads a broad selection from his New and Collected Poems, for which he was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize. He also reads from Opposites and More Opposites.

Length: 68 min.

Track List

1. Introduction by James Merrill
2. Introduction to "Year’s End"
3. Year’s End
4. Introduction to "Juggler"
5. Juggler
6. Epilogue to "Juggler"
7. Introduction to "Museum Piece"
8. Museum Piece
9. Epilogue to "Museum Piece"
10. An Event
11. Introduction to "Merlin Enthralled"
12. Merlin Enthralled
13. Lamarck Elaborated
14. Introduction to "The Aspen and the Stream"
15. The Aspen and the Stream
16. Introduction to "Some Riddles from Symphosius"
17. Riddle (I)
18. Riddle (II)
19. Riddle (III)
20. Riddle (IV)
21. Loves of the Poets
22. Introduction to "Running"
23. Running
24. Introduction to "Complaint"
25. Complaint
26. Introduction to "Children of Darkness"
27. Children of Darkness
28. Teresa
29. Introduction to "Piccola Comedia"
30. Piccola Comedia
31. Introduction "Song"
32. Song (by Vinicius De Moraes)
33. Introduction to "The Writer"
34. The Writer
35. Introduction to "Hamlen Brook"
36. Hamlen Brook (false start)
37. Hamlen Brook
38. Epilogue to "Hamlen Brook"
39. Introduction to "The Ride"
40. The Ride
41. Introduction to "Pangloss’s Song"
42. Pangloss’s Song (from Candide)
43. Epilogue to "Pangloss's Song"
44. Introduction to "To His Skeleton"
45. To His Skeleton
46. Introduction to "The Prisoner of Zenda"
47. The Prisoner of Zenda
48. Introduction to "Opposites"
49. Opposites
50. More Opposites