Robert Bly (1926–2021) was an American poet, essayist, and translator known for his deep imagery, mythopoetic themes, and contributions to the Men’s Movement. His work explored masculinity, spirituality, and social consciousness.
Born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, he studied at Harvard University, where he was part of a literary circle that included Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, and Donald Hall. He later earned an MFA from the University of Iowa. In 1958, he founded The Fifties, a literary magazine introducing American readers to international poets like Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo.
Bly’s first poetry collection, Silence in the Snowy Fields (1962,) established his style. He won the National Book Award for The Light Around the Body (1968,) critiquing the Vietnam War. His later works include Sleepers Joining Hands (1973,) Morning Poems (1997,) and Eating the Honey of Words (1999.)
His most famous prose book, Iron John: A Book About Men (1990,) became a bestseller, shaping discussions on masculinity through Jungian psychology and myth. Other notable works include The Maiden King (1999, co-written with Marion Woodman) and Talking into the Ear of a Donkey (2011.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Robert Bly
The beginning of love is a horror of emptiness
—Robert Bly
We are living at an important and fruitful moment now, for it is clear to men that the images of adult manhood given by the popular culture are worn out; a man can no longer depend on them. By the time a man is thirty-five he knows that the images of the right man, the tough man, the true man which he received in high school do not work in life.
—Robert Bly
Leave a Reply