Theodore roethke poems

He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in for his book The Waking , and the annual National Book Award for Poetry on two occasions: in for Words for the Wind , [ 2 ] and posthumously in for The Far Field. Indeed, Roethke's mastery of both free verse and fixed forms was complemented by an intense lyrical quality that drew "from the natural world in all its mystery and fierce beauty.

Roethke was praised by former U. Poet Laureate and author James Dickey as "in my opinion the greatest poet this country has yet produced. His students from that period won two Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and two others were nominated for the award. Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan , and grew up on the west side of the Saginaw River. His father, Otto, was a German immigrant, a market-gardener who owned a large local acre greenhouse , along with his brother Theodore's uncle.

Much of Theodore's childhood was spent in this greenhouse, as reflected by the use of natural images in his poetry. In early when Roethke was 14 years old, his uncle died by suicide and his father died of cancer. Roethke noted that these events affected him deeply and influenced his work.

Theodore roethke the waking

Roethke attended the University of Michigan , earning a B. He continued on at Michigan to receive an M. He briefly attended the University of Michigan School of Law before resuming his graduate studies at Harvard University , where he studied under the poet Robert Hillyer. In , he was expelled from his position at Lafayette [ why? Prior to his return, he had an affair with established poet and critic Louise Bogan , one of his strongest early supporters.

His last teaching position was at the University of Washington , leading to an association with the poets of the American Northwest. So influential was Roethke's poetry on Plath's mature poetry that when she submitted "Poem for a Birthday" to Poetry magazine, it was turned down because it displayed "too imposing a debt to Roethke.