So Much Secret Labor

How a passion for translation fueled the development of a great American poet

So Much Secret Labor is a window into the work of the great American poet, James Wright (1927?1980), whose love of languages and quest for the "true imagination" helped transform American poetry. The book draws on memoir, archival research, interviews, letters, and previous unpublished journal excerpts, presenting a scrupulous and intimate reading of Wright's work and the translations he insisted were as redemptive in his life as they were crucial to his poetics. At its center is a selection of Wright's translations, both from German and Spanish: poems by Trakl, Rilke, Heine, Vallejo, Lorca, and Neruda, among others, including draft versions discovered among his collected papers that have never been published. It also provides an important assessment of the little known formative influence of German poetry on Wright's own poems. Wright's literary relationship with another great mid-century American poet, Robert Bly, is featured here in a portfolio of unpublished letters, typescripts and holographs. These tell the story of their ardent friendship and earliest translation collaborations, and situates them in the history of the emergence of poetry of the "true imagination" that they were beginning to explore at that time.

"Bravo. Anne Wright and her collaborators returns us to the restless energy of these then young poets, and their mission to refresh our American poetic voice?a stone that has yet to stop rippling"?Cornelius Eady, Professor of English/Hodges Chair, The University of TN-Knoxville

"The impact translation had on James Wright's poetry is of the same magnitude as James Wright's impact on American poetry. Any and every poet and translator has something to learn from this tremendous collection."?Ariel Francisco, Assistant Professor of Poetry and Hispanic Studies, Louisiana State University