Robert Wrigley has so far achieved a goal that is dear to the heart of nearly every writer--to have each succeeding book improve upon the one before it. His awards and honors have kept pace with his evolution as a poet, from his first National Endowment for the Arts Grant in 1978 to the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for 2000 for Reign of Snakes (1999), an "endowed cash award of $50,000 . . . presented annually, after an open competition, for a new work by an American poet who is past the beginning but has not yet reached the pinnacle of his or her career."

Additional recognitions include the Cecil B. Wagner Award from the Poetry Society of America (1985); a two-year appointment as Idaho's State Writer in Residence (1986-1988); the Frederick Bock Award from Poetry magazine (1988); two appointments as the Richard Hugo Distinguished Poet in Residence at the University of Montana (1990, 1995); Pushcart Prizes for poetry...