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Richard Hugo (December 21, 1923 – October 22, 1982), born Richard Franklin Hogan, was an American
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
. Although some critics regard Hugo as primarily a regionalist, his work resonates broadly across place and time. A portion of Hugo's work reflects the economic depression of the Northwestern United States, particularly Montana.


Life and work

Born in the White Center area of
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
on December 21, 1923, 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a bombardier in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
. He left the service in 1945 after flying 35 combat missions and reaching the rank of
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
. Hugo's experiences in the military are referenced in one of his books of poetry, ''Good Luck in Cracked Italian''. Hugo received his
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in 1948, and his M.A. in Creative Writing four years later, from the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
where he studied under
Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1954 for his book '' The ...
.Guide to the Richard Hugo Papers at the University of Montana
/ref> He married Barbara Williams in 1952, the same year he started working as a technical writer for
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
. 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 The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...
. He later became the head of the creative writing program there. His wife returned to Seattle in 1964; 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 a large number of informal
epistolary Epistolary means "relating to an epistle or letter". It may refer to: * Epistolary (), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles * Epistolary novel, a novel written as a series of lette ...
poems at a time when that form was unfashionable. 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 and became stepfather to Matthew and Melissa Hansen. In 1977, he was named the editor of the
Yale Younger Poets Series The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...
. Hugo died of leukemia in Seattle on October 22, 1982. Hugo House - a non-profit community writing center in Seattle - is named after him.


Bibliography

* ''A Run of Jacks'' (1961) * ''Death of the Kapowsin Tavern'' (1965) * ''Good Luck in Cracked Italian'' (1969) * ''The Lady in Kicking Horse Reservoir'' (1973) * ''The Missoula Softball Tournament'' (1973) * ''What Thou Lovest Well, Remains American'' (1975) * ''Rain Five Days and I Love It'' (1976) * ''31 Letters and 13 Dreams'' (1977) * ''The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing'' (1979) * ''Selected Poems'' (1979) * ''The Right Madness on Skye'' (1980) * ''White Center'' (1980) * ''Death and the Good Life'' (Mystery Novel) (1981) * ''Sea Lanes Out'' (1983) * ''Making Certain it Goes On: The Collected Poems of Richard Hugo'' (1984) * ''The Real West Marginal Way: a Poet's Autobiography'' (1987)


TV Show

His novel ''Death and the Good Life'' (1981) inspired the French TV show Alex Hugo, broadcast on the channel France 2 since March 19th 2014 and on France 3 since 21 September 2021.


References


Further reading

* (print and on-line)


External links


Eat Stone and Go On – The Recorded Poetry of Richard Hugo

The Academy of American Poets: Richard Hugo

The Richard Hugo House
– a Seattle non-profit that supports and educates writers
Richard Hugo’s Constructivist Moment: On ''The Triggering Town''
on-line essay by Joshua Corey on Hugo's poetics
Kicking the Loose Gravel Home - A film by Annick Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugo, Richard 1923 births 1982 deaths Writers from Seattle University of Washington alumni 20th-century American poets People from King County, Washington United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers Deaths from leukemia in Washington (state)