Richard Wilbur is an American poet with thousands of published works spanning a seven-decade-long career. He was the second poet laureate to ever hold the position and a believer in poetry’s more traditional forms. It is rare to see a poet who uses simple rhyme and traditional meter rise so high in popular standing, but Wilbur’s simple honesty, emotional phrasing, love of nature, and gentlemanly poise set his work leagues above many of his peers.
While many famous people and notable scholars are interviewed over the course of this expanded documentary, the most intriguing part of the film remains the personal interviews with Richard Wilbur himself. His thoughtfulness and honesty shine in every segment. His open discussions about art and wartime trauma setting him on the path to poetic excellence are as intriguing as they are useful to those writers and poets seeking to improve their craft.
While I only watched two parts of this over-9-hour-long documentary, I can see the educational potential of the full series. The entire film has been produced in a box set of five DVDs which include archival materials not included in the original theatrical release, making it an ideal purchase for university libraries that serve busy poetry and writing departments. Different instructors will find different value in each section: Some interviews discuss Wilbur’s most successful poems, others touch on his personal history, and still, some segments discuss the writing and editing processes. Richard Wilbur is an interesting individual who deserves study.
The biography segments of this documentary do an excellent job of studying the poet laureate’s personal history and make it a wonderful recommendation for fans of biography. Deep discussions with scholars and translators of Wilbur’s work give viewers an intimate understanding of the man behind the art and what his poems mean on a personal level as well as academic. There’s a good chance the shorter version of this film will find its way into production in the next year or so, but until then this handsome box set is an outstanding choice for librarians seeking content for poetry and biography documentary collections. Highly Recommended.
Where does this film belong on public library shelves?
This expansive series should be prominently placed in writing, poetry, or biography documentary collections.
What type of instructors could use this film?
College and High School level teachers of literature, poetry, writing, and history will all find different segments of this 9+ hour-long film very useful.
Note: The limited edition five-DVD set of the director’s cut (including archival material not available in the theatrical version) runs 9 hours and 23 minutes. Essential for libraries, educators, poets, students, and fans.