Frederick Morgan grew up in New York City. He earned a BA from Princeton University, where he studied with Allen Tate. Publishing his first collection of verses at the age of 50, Morgan became a published poet late in life. A founding editor of the literary quarterly Hudson Review with fellow Princeton classmates Joseph Bennett and William Arrowsmith, he concentrated most of his literary efforts on this respected journal during his first decades, but when he did begin publishing poems, starting with 1972’s A Book of Change, he was soon recognized for his talents.

Although Morgan had composed a few poems during his earlier years at the Hudson Review, he was not inclined to complete an entire book until after tragedy struck his life. His first wife, Constance, died when she was just 40, and Morgan was left to raise their six children by himself. Wracked by a sense of guilt that somehow he was at fault, penning poetry proved to be therapeutic. But despite the terrible circumstances under which it was written, A Book of Change came to be a celebratory work. A Book of Change was well received by critics, and continued reviewer acclaim has attended Morgan’s subsequent collections of poetry.

Morgan’s final collection before his death, The One Abiding, was published in 2003. Here he displays his usual diversity of poetic style and thematic concerns of childhood, love, and mortality. Morgan passed away at the age of 81. Though his work on the Hudson Review will always be appreciated by those who understood Morgan’s resistance to fads and pop culture in favor of quality writing, his contributions as a poet should not be overlooked. His verses celebrate life even in the face of death, as he himself did. From poetryfoundation.org/poets/frederick-morgan