Heart’s Needle
When it was published in 1959, in a poetry collec-
tion of the same name, W. D. Snodgrass’s poem
‘‘Heart’s Needle’’ was a sensation. Snodgrass won
a Pulitzer Prize, and the poem came to be recog-
nized as one of the very first examples of confes-
sional poetry, a term coined that year to describe
poetry that deals straightforwardly with autobio-
graphical material. Snodgrass’s talent was imme-
diately viewed as equal to that of such luminaries
as John Berryman, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Low-
ell, and Sylvia Plath. Indeed, ‘‘Heart’s Needle’’ is
almost universally acclaimed, whether as an
example of a particular style of poetry or for its
own potent message.
The poem itself concerns the poet’s relation-
ship with his daughter after he divorced her
mother (when his daughter was three years
old). Told over a series of ten sections, each
written in a distinct style, ‘‘Heart’s Needle’’
reflects on the poet’s weakening bond with his
daughter. ‘‘Heart’s Needle’’ can now be found in
Snodgrass’s 2006 collectionNot for Specialists:
New and Selected Poems.
Author Biography
W. D. Snodgrass was born William De Witt
Snodgrass on January 5, 1926, in Wilkinsburg,
Pennsylvania. His father was an accountant and
his mother was a homemaker. After high school
93W. D. SNODGRASS
1959