The Essential C.D. Wright, with a moving introduction by Forrest Gander, gathers rare selections from across her entire oeuvre—from the first book, Room Rented by a Single Woman (1978), through the final collection, Shall Cross, which was in production at the time of her unexpected death in 2016. It also presents readers with the very first look at a remarkable selection of previously uncollected poems. Tracing a writing life that spans more than four decades, this book illuminates works that remain empowered by an unrelenting independence, a wry and utterly original lyricism. It is a powerful entry in Copper Canyon’s revered Essential series, which has provided reader-friendly editions of some of contemporary poetry’s most important voices. C.D. Wright introduced a contemporary audience to the promise and power of docupoetics, while pushing the musical boundaries of vernacular speech and reshaping American poetry. Formally restless and energetic, The Essential C.D. Wright stands as a staple in the larger poetic landscape.
ISBN: 9781556597190
Format: Paperback
“This comprehensive and riveting volume […] serves both the ardent fan and the newcomer to [Wright’s] work. Wright’s commitment to wonder and witness runs throughout like an iron wire, revealing a logic made newly legible by this collection […] Attuned especially to the poor and disenfranchised, the victims of racialized violence, and the incarcerated, these poems strive to represent people ‘as they elect to be seen, in their larger selves.’ It’s a thrilling assemblage of Wright’s unforgettable writings.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“The best solution to date to the problem of Wright’s genius and abundance.”—Christopher Spaide, Lit Hub
“The Essential C. D. Wright brings together poems selected from across the author’s many books as well as unpublished poems and drafts, including lovely hauntings like ‘The great nothing was there. Always. / Listen, Trespasser.’ In the introduction, Forrest Gander writes of living together for over three decades, ‘she was not for one minute uninteresting. Or uninterested.’ Wright’s desirous, interested, wild eye is more present here than in any other single volume.”—Poetry Northwest