Here are some brief ideas and discussion points for individuals and community reading groups. Read the biography section of this Web site for more information on Richard Hugo.

Richard Hugo (1923-1982) wrote “I am a regionalist and I don’t care for writers who are not. I find it hard to write unless I have a sense of where the speaker is, and I have a hard time appreciating writing if I sense the author has no clear idea of where the things in his work are happening.”

When listening to these poems, think of the kinds of things you need to know – places, names, events – to understand and talk about them. Page numbers refer to the poem in the companion book Making Certain It Goes On: The Collected Poems of Richard Hugo.

Hugo’s river poems: At the beginning of the first CD, why do you think Hugo says he used to think he owned rivers around Seattle? In “Duwamish,” (p.44) why does the poet say in the third to the last line that “all words are Indian?” What does the poet say – and what do you think – of the origins of words and language? How are the five river poems similar or different, and do they show wild or urban rivers?

Hugo’s war poems: “Mission to Linz” (p.79) is a long narrative poem and “In Your War Dream” (p.287) is a short dream poem, and both are about bombing missions Hugo flew in WWII. Are they accurate portrayals of wartime? Do they need to be? “Letter to Matthews from Barton Street Flats” (p.280) describes a different kind of war experience. What do you know of the history of internment camps during WWII?

Montana poems of place: How is “Silver Star” (p.177) not a simple postcard of a place? Why leave a town in a flashy car? At the end of “Fort Benton,” (p.345) why do townspeople yell into the Missouri Breaks? Why do you think Hugo feels “Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg” (p.216) is “one of the better poems he will ever write?” Are there things in this poem that are personal and regional but are also universal, and what are the images of optimism? In “Bear Paw,” (p.215) why is the historian a cloud on the horizon? How can the weather be both a survivor and a god? Why might Hugo have written “Montana Ranch Abandoned” (p.205) soon after coming to Montana? Is he imagining what was and is at the ranch, or imagining his new life in Montana?

Stories and poems: Does knowing the story behind the poem “With Ripley at the Grave of Albert Parenteau” (p.329) make a difference in your response to the poem? Does the introduction to “Missoula Softball Tournament” (p.210) give valuable background to understanding the poem and poet? Why is the poet alone and in the stands and not playing? What kind of family does Hugo describe in “What Thou Lovest Well Remains American”? (p.235), and what kind of secret clubs do the people you know – or you – form?

These titles are suggested companion books for the CDs: Check your local library, use WorldCat’s “Find in a Library” to list Hugo’s books in your local library via your zip code, or click the link to order from Fact and Fiction Books in Missoula:

Making Certain It Goes On: The Collected Poems of Richard Hugo
Read the poems recorded on the CDs and all of the rest of his work

The Real West Marginal Way - A Poet's Autobiography
Essays by Richard Hugo describing his childhood in Seattle, his teaching and travels

The Triggering Town - Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing
A great source for writers and teachers of writing