MacLeish's Literary Awards

Archibald MacLeish

In MacLeish's government work, we have seen that he succeeded as a public figure even on the international stage, but how did he fare as a poet and writer?

The query nearly sounds absurd. MacLeish received three Pulitzer Prizes for literary works: Conquistador (1932, 1933), Collected Poems 1917-1952 (1952, 1953), and J.B. (1958, 1959). Other awards for literary works include the National Book Award for Poetry (Collected Poems, 1917-1952, 1953), the Bollingen Prize in Poetry (Collected Poems, 1917-1952, 1953), and the Tony Award for Best Play (J.B., 1958, 1959) (Frank, 2011, 8). MacLeish's early, lyrical poems from the mid-nineteen twenties are much the source of his poetic reputation and are notable for what David Barber terms their "lyrical grace and . . . tone of muted horror at the human experience of spinning on our small planet through the dark and empty universe," as in "You, Andrew Marvell" and other fine lyrics, including, "Ars Poetica," "The End of the World," "Eleven," and "'Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments'" (Barber, 1999).

There is more, but you get the point.