It is as if I were having a conversation with the rest of poetry, a conversation which, I hope, other readers are able to listen in on. Recently, I was talking to an audience of freshmen at an elite college. Wilbur's sense of the poetic tradition extends to his view of the canon. It is always good when good but neglected writers are discovered. For instance, when I was teaching I was glad when feminism made us look around and find neglected women writers.
Multiculturalism can be subject to abuse.
Rita Dove Like Richard Wilbur, poet Rita Dove has been strongly influenced by great poets. I think I read most of Shakespeare's tragedies during the summer I was 12. I didn't understand all of them, but I found his language amazing. While I am writing I can discover something about myself and about the poem. As a poet, I get to not be a specialist, so then I am free to find out about science, or polar bears, or whatever interests me for my work.