Robert Bagg

Poet

Worthington, MA
Massachusetts US

Author's Bio

I was born in New Jersey, graduated from Amherst (B.A. 1957), attended Harvard as a special student (1960), and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut (1965). I've taught at the University of Washington (1963–1965) and the University of Massachusetts (from 1965 to 1996, serving as Graduate Director from 1982 to 1986 and as Department Chair from 1986 to 1992.

In addition to essays on Classical and English literature, I've published six books of poetry and translations of eight plays by Euripides and Sophocles. My first book, Madonna of the Cello, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. My translations of Greek plays have been staged in sixty productions worldwide. I've held Guggenheim, Ingram Merrill, Rockefeller (Bellagio Residency), NEA and NEH fellowships, the latter in 2007 for work on a critical biography of Richard Wilbur.

I live in Western Massachusetts with my wife Mary, a free-lance writer and editor. My remaining outdoor enthusiasm is golf, but earlier ones included déjeuner sur l'herbe, touch football, skiing, sailing, and horseback riding.

I have three websites: www.robertbagg.com
www.thecompletesophocles.com
www.spiritusmundipress.com

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Let Us Watch Richard Wilbur: A Biographical Study (University of Massachusetts Press, 2017)
,
Antigone (Harper Perennial, 2012)
,
Elektra (Harper Perennial, 2012)
,
Oedipus At Kolonos (Harper Perennial, 2012)
,
Oedipus The King (Harper Perennial, 2012)
,
The Oedipus Cycle (Harper Perennial, 2012)
,
Women of Trakhis (Harper Perennial, 2012)
,
The Complete Plays of Sophocles: A New Translation (Harper Perennial, 2011)
,
Niké and other poems (Azul Editions, 2005)
,
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles (University of Massachusetts Press, 2004)
,
Body Blows: Poems New & Selected (University of Massachusetts Press, 1988)
,
Euripides THE BAKKHAI (University of Massachusetts Press, 1978)
,
Euripides HIPPOLYTOS (Oxford University Press, 1973)
,
The Scrawny Sonnets (University of Illinois Press, 1973)
,
Madonna of the Cello (Wesleyan University Press, 1961)
Prizes won: 

The Mount Holyoke Irene Glascock Memorial Poetry Prize (1957).

Rome Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1958-59).

Personal Favorites

What I'm reading now: 
Complete Poems: 1943-2004 by Richard Wilbur, Angel of History by James Scully, Collected Letters by Anthony Hecht

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
White
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Orange
Raised in: 
Millburn, NJ
New Jersey
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Aug 06, 2018