The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Wilbur, Richard. “The Writer.” Poets.org, https://poets.org/poem/writer.

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

“The Writer” originally appeared in Richard Wilbur’s 1976 collection The Mind Reader, and is believed to be an autobiographical account of his relationship with his daughter when she was much younger. Contrary to much of Wilbur’s style, this poem is written in free verse. It follows an unnamed parent who listens to the sound of their daughter typing. The balance between thought and action in her process reminds the speaker of a time when a bird flew into the daughter’s room and became trapped there. This leads the speaker to consider the balance of freedom and constraint that their daughter is already facing, and will face even more as she grows up.