Robert Bagg

Robert Ely Bagg (September 21, 1935 – April 9, 2026) was an American poet and translator. He published several volumes of poetry authored critical studies of Sappho and Catullus.¹ He graduated from Amherst College in 1957, and received an M.A. and PhD from the University of Connecticut in 1961 and 1965, respectively.² In 1961, Bagg's collection of poetry titled Madonna of the Cello was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and National Book Award.³

In addition to his other literary work, Bagg taught English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1965–1996), and served as Chair of the English Department from 1986 to 1992.⁴

Bagg was born in New Jersey on September 21, 1935, and grew up in Millburn.⁵ Bagg graduated with a B.A. from Amherst College in 1957, his father's alma mater. There, he studied under the American poet James Merrill.³⁶ Bagg went on to attend classes at Harvard University in 1960 before earning a PhD from the University of Connecticut.

Bagg died at his home in Worthington, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2026, at the age of 90.³

• Hippolytus by Euripides (1973)
• The Bakkhai by Euripides (1978)