Galway Kinnell's 'Wait' Poem Offers Hope to Those in Crisis

What Happened The Marginalian recently highlighted Galway Kinnell’s poem ‘Wait,’ which the acclaimed American poet wrote specifically for a student who was contemplating suicide. The piece explores how Kinnell addressed what philosopher Albert Camus called ’the fundamental question of philosophy’ - whether life is worth living - through compassionate verse rather than philosophical argument. Kinnell, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1983 and served as Vermont’s poet laureate, crafted the poem as a direct response to his student’s crisis.