What Thou Lovest Well, Remains American

by Richard Hugo

Here is a collection of poems by a writer whom the poet Carolyn Kizer calls "one of the most passionate, energetic, and honest poets living." Hugo's most important subject is the American West. In the present volume, people, places, dreams, and memories are explored again--always in search of the poet's self.

Genres: Poetry

84 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1975

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Richard Hugo (December 21, 1923 - October 22, 1982), born Richard Hogan, was an American poet. Primarily a regionalist, Hugo's work reflects the economic depression of the Northwest, particularly Montana. Born in White Center, Washington, he was raised by his mother's parents after his father left the family. In 1942 he legally changed his name to Richard Hugo, taking his stepfather's surname. He served in World War II as a bombardier in the Mediterranean. He left the service in 1945 after flying 35 combat missions and reaching the rank of first lieutenant.

Hugo received his B.A. in 1948 and his M.A. in 1952 in Creative Writing from the University of Washington where he studied under Theodore Roethke.[1] He married Barbara Williams in 1952, the same year he started working as a technical writer for Boeing.

In 1961 his first book of poems, A Run of Jacks, was published. Soon after he took a creative writing teaching job at the University of Montana. He later became the head of the creative writing program there.[2] His wife returned to Seattle in 1964, and they divorced soon after. He published five more books of poetry, a memoir, a highly respected book on writing, and also a mystery novel. His posthumous book of collected poetry, Making Certain It Goes On, evinces that his poems are marked by crisp, gorgeous images of nature that often stand in contrast to his own depression, loneliness, and alcoholism. Although almost always written in free verse, his poems have a strong sense of rhythm that often echoes iambic meters. He also wrote of large number of informal epistolary poems at a time when that form was unfashionable.

Hugo was a friend of poet James Wright.

Hugo’s The Real West Marginal Way is a collection of essays, generally autobiographical in nature, that detail his childhood, his military service, his poetics, and his teaching.

Hugo remarried in 1974 to Ripley Schemm Hansen. In 1977 he was named the editor of the Yale Younger Poets Series.

Hugo died of leukemia on October 22, 1982.

Reviews

[fire_on_the_mountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can tell I missed a lot here, but the sense of loss, deprivation, regret and the attempt to carry on shines through. It speaks to a complexity of a region, and a people, that battle against forces human and natural to survive and live with dignity, to varying results. And while I'm here for that, I know I'm missing so much more, so I'm sure I'll need to re-read this.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My guy.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

At his best, Hugo is hard to beat. This collection is in a different register. It seems more like a poet trying to write poetry than his other collections. Disappointing, occasionally very good, often frustrating.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Hugo, and have read Making Certain It Goes On, of course, but sometimes collected poems are overwhelming. It was nice to just read a single collection of Hugo's poetry in its original edition. These are fine fine poems by a poet who is quickly being forgotten.

[Hans P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry doesn't get any better!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Hugo's distinctive voice, often expressing pain, failure, and love.

[Stephen Glynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did not work for me. Only a very few of the poems echoed in my soul. That was a disappointment.

[Mills College Library]

811.54 H895w 1975