John Updike was an American novelist who also worked as an art critic and short-story writer. His novels include Rabbit, Run, and Rabbit Redux. He is also one of only four writers who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once. He also won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award.
‘Ex-Basketball Player’ by John Updike explores the faded glory of Flick Webb, a former basketball star, as he navigates a life of unfulfilled potential and routine.
Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot,
Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off
Before it has a chance to go two blocks,
At Colonel McComsky Plaza. Berth’s Garage
‘Marching Through a Novel’ by John Updike is an allegorical narrative about the dynamic between a writer and their characters and the effect of rigid characterization on a novel. The poem uses strong military imagery to urge readers to view characters in a novel as real human beings.
They extend skeletal arms
for the handcuffs of contrivance,
slog through docilely
maneuvers of coincidence,
‘Recital’ by John Updike is a poetic tribute to Roger Bobo, an American tuba virtuoso and brass pedagogue. This poem captures the popularity of Bobo’s tuba playing skills.
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