Prompt: Midpoints

This past week, I was thinking about midpoints because July 1 was the midpoint of this year. That thought sent me to my bookshelf for a copy of John Updike's Midpoint and Other Poems. Updike published this book of poetry in 1969. “Midpoint” is the long poem that opens the book. Updike says that it was written “to take inventory of his life at the end of his thirty-fifth year – a midpoint.”

This may be the midpoint of the calendar year, but it is a lot harder to pick out the midpoint of your life. In fact, Updike was close, but he was a few years too early. Born in 1932, he was 35 when he wrote the poem and 37 when he was putting together the book, but he lived to 2009 and was almost 77.

Updike doesn't get as much attention for his poetry as he does for his prose, but I like a lot of his poetry. His humorous verse (not easier to write than serious stuff) and his more serious poetry often remind me of his poetic prose.

"Midpoint" (the poem) is ambitious and long (43 pages). He uses the meters of Dante, Spenser, Pope, Whitman, and Pound. He even uses some arrangements on the page that are more like concrete poetry. “Midpoint” has five "cantos" (sections, as in Dante), and each canto begins with an “argument” that sets forth the poet’s own summary of that section. (more about the book here)

For submissions this month, look more to the concept of Updike's poem and book than to the poem itself. Write about life midpoints. They are moments of transition, reflection, or redirection that often mark significant psychological or chronological turning points. They may not actually be the chronological halfway point in a life or set of experiences. For example, when children become independent, parents may be prompted to shift from active parenting to self-rediscovery. The term midpoint suggests a central marker, but in life it’s more symbolic than mathematical. It might occur early or late, depending on a person's experiences, choices, or circumstances. A pivotal moment—like a major insight, loss, or turning point—can feel like a “middle,” even if it’s not halfway through chronologically. In literature, the midpoint often refers to a narrative shift rather than a time-based measure. Life follows similar rhythms.

John Updike (1932-2009) was a highly acclaimed American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist. He is best known for his detailed portrayals of American middle-class life, particularly in his "Rabbit" series of novels, which follow the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom through various social and personal upheavals. Updike was a prolific writer, publishing over 20 novels, numerous short story collections, poetry, and essays. He was also a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and received numerous other accolades for his work. He attended Harvard University, where he was editor of The Harvard Lampoon and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English in 1954. He also studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at the University of Oxford.

John Updike’s poetry is witty, observant, and grounded in the everyday. Known for its formal precision and playful language, his work often explores suburban life, aging, and sensuality. Though more famous as a novelist, Updike’s verse reveals a sharp eye for detail and a sly sense of humor rooted in tradition.

Updike also published Endpoint (2009), a collection of poems that he wrote during the last seven years of his life and put together only weeks before he died. It is his final book. Besides his individual poetry collections, Updike has a Selected Poems and Collected Poems 1953-1993.

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