Essential C.D. Wright

Spanning four decades of writingand including never-before-seen poemsThe Essential C.D. Wright carries the reverence and wisecracking lyricism of poems that reshaped American poetry.The Essential C.D. Wright gathers rare selections across the famed poets entire oeuvrefrom the first book, Alla Breve Loving (1976), through to ShallCross, which was in production at the time of her unexpected death in 2016. Tracing a writing life that spans more than four decades, this essential collection illuminates works that remain empowered by an unrelenting independence, a reverence for mentors, and wry, wisecracking lyricism. A formally restless, energetic, uncompromising, and utterly unique voice, 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. With a moving introduction by Forrest Gander, this volume cements C.D. Wrights place in the literary canon.