Edwin Arlington Robinson
Born	December 22, 1869 Tide Head, Maine
Died	April 6, 1935
Occupation	poet
Nationality	American

Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet, who won three Pulitzer Prizes for his work. Image File history File links Edwin_Arlington_Robinson. ... is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... This article is about work. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Maine. ... is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ...

Biography

Robinson was born in Head Tide, but his family moved to Gardiner, Maine in 1870. He described his childhood in Maine as "stark and unhappy."^[1] His family also had problems with alcohol and his brother Herman died in part due to that. It has been speculated that his poem Richard Cory may relate to his brother. His early difficulties led many of his poems to have a dark pessimism and his stories to deal with "an American dream gone away."^[2] Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Richard Cory is a narrative poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson, describing a fictional character who is wealthy but ultimately commits suicide for unknown reasons, although it is most likely that being looked up to by those less wealthy than him leads to him being seen as a sort of...

In the fall of 1891, at the age of 21, Edwin entered Harvard as a special student. He took classes on English, French, and Shakespeare, as well as one on Anglo-Saxon that he later dropped. His mission was not to get all A's, as he wrote his friend Harry Smith, "B, and in that vicinity, is a very comfortable and safe place to hang".

His real desire was to get published in one of the Harvard literary journals. Within the first fortnight of being there, Robinson's "Ballade of a Ship" was published in the Harvard Advocate, a journal of less stature than the heralded Harvard Monthly. He was even invited to meet with the editors, but when he returned he complained to his friend Mowry Saben, "I sat there among them, unable to say a word". Robinson's literary career had false-started.

After Edwin's first year at Harvard the family endured what they knew was coming. His father, Edward, had died. He was buried at the top of the street in Oak Grove Cemetery in a plot purchased for the family.

In the fall Edwin returned to Harvard for a second year, but it was to be his last one as a student there. Though short, his stay in Cambridge included some of his most cherished experiences, and it was there that he made his most lasting friendships. He wrote his friend Harry Smith on June 21, 1893:

"I suppose this is the last letter I shall ever write you from Harvard. The thought seems a little queer, but it cannot be otherwise. Sometimes I try to imagine the state my mind would be in had I never come here, but I cannot. I feel that I have got comparatively little from my two years, but still, more than I could get in Gardiner if I lived a century."

Robinson was back in Gardiner by mid-summer, 1893. He had plans to start writing seriously. In October he wrote his friend Gledhill:

"Writing has been my dream ever since I was old enough to lay a plan for an air castle. Now for the first time I seem to have something like a favorable opportunity and this winter I shall make a beginning."

With his father gone, Edwin became the man of the household. He farmed their plot of land, and much to his surprise he liked it. He was often too exhausted to write after a long day's work.

He left Maine after high school to attend Harvard University. This lasted two years and later he went to New York City to be around other authors. His first volume of poems came out in 1896, but had limited distribution. He self-published the first book The Torrent and the Night Before, paying 100 dollars for 500 copies. It was meant to be a surprise for his mother. Days before the copies arrived, however, Mary Palmer Robinson died of diptheria. She never got to see her son's published poetry. His second volume, The Children of the Night, was publicly available. He had some financial difficulties as poet, but in 1905 Theodore Roosevelt gave him a job at a Customs Office because he was a fan of Robinson's work. He later quit that job to devote himself to poetry full time. He had literary success after that, but lived a solitary life and never married.^[3] Harvard redirects here. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ...

Poetry

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

Edwin Arlington Robinson

• The Torrent, 2003* The Children of the Night, 1897.
• Richard Cory, 2003* Captain Craig and Other Poems, 1902.
• The Town Down the River, 2003* Miniver Cheevy, 2003
• Luke Havergal, 1897.
• Van Zorn, 1914.
• The Porcupine, 1915.
• The Man Against the Sky, 1916.
• Merlin, 1917.
• The Mill, 1919.
• Ben Trovato, 1920
• The Three Taverns, 1920.
• Avon's Harvest, 1921.
• Collected Poems, 1921.
• Mr. Flood's Party, 1921.
• Haunted House, 1921.
• Roman Bartholomew, 1923.
• The Man Who Died Twice, 1924.
• Dionysus in Doubt, 1925.
• Tristram, 1927.
• Fortunatus, 1928.
• Sonnets, 1889-1917, 1928.
• Cavender's House, 1929.
• Modred, 1929.
• The Glory of the Nightingales, 1931.
• Matthias at the Door, 1931.
• Selected Poems, 1931.
• Talifer, 1933.
• Amaranth, 1934.
• King Jasper, 1935.
• Collected Poems, 1937.
• New England, 1927