What is the context and history behind James Wright's poem "Having Lost My Sons, I Confront The Wreckage of the Moon: Christmas, 1960"?
A careful survey of James Wright 's biographical information may shed some light on the context of his poem "Having Lost my Sons, I Confront the Wreckage of the Moon: Christmas, 1960." The title of the poem itself really illuminates the poet's frame of mind. He frames the poem with...
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the fact that he has lost his sons and the fact that it is Christmas time. Wright's marriage to his first wife "became so troubled that a separation occurred in 1959 and it dissolved in a divorce finalized in 1962" (Brunner).
His poem, written in 1960, right in the middle of his difficult divorce and his subsequent separation from his two sons, Franz and Marshall, captures both his loneliness and isolation during the holiday season. Poets often infuse settings and objects in their poetry with emotion, and Wright's poem "Having Lost My Sons, I Confront the Wreckage of the Moon; Christmas, 1960" is no exception; Wright views the cratered landscape of the moon as "wreckage," perhaps projecting his own feelings of being out of control in his home life to the pounded-on appearance of the moon.
Work cited:
Brunner, Edward. "James Wright: Biographical Sketch." Modern American Poetry. University of Illinois. web. 14 Aug. 2012.