Walking through Frost’s woods: Discover facts about America’s favorite Poet
Recently, at one of my favorite local restaurants I was talking with the manager about my new book Nature Sings. As the conversation ensued, he admitted that Robert Frost was the only poet that he could name. Beyond that point, he was clueless and lost interest. I assume that this is a common reaction if you talk about poetry to anyone other than a poet. Hence, this is one reason that I chose to write a blog about him since is so popular with the general population.
Robert Frost in his late twenties
America’s Favorite Poet
Many students throughout the last 50 years have had to memorize a Robert Frost poem. Maybe the most common is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening which both of my children had to memorize. They can still recite it today!
Though Robert Frost passed on January 29, 1963 in Boston, MA his legendary writings live on today. In fact, many people would claim him as their favorite poet of all time. His work was and is admired by many. His realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations fueled his work to expand the passage of time.
His work was first published in England before hitting America. Before you start to think that his life was free of pain or setbacks, you may want to take a look at some of the facts listed below. Indeed, Frost had much success, but with it came the clouds of sorrow as well, and yet he persevered to become one of the greatest poets of his day. Read some of his most popular poems at https://www.robertfrost.org/.
The Road Not Taken: A Poem or Joke?
· He was a college dropout. He attended Dartmouth college for two months. Then he joined Harvard but dropped from there to support his family.
· He sold his first poem, ‘My Butterfly: An Elegy’ at the age of 20 to the New York Independent in 1894.
· ‘The Road Not taken’ was written as a private joke for his friend Edward Thomas, but few know the history of the poem. It is his most famous poem.
Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy
· First poet to read at a presidential inauguration. John F. Kennedy, who was a fan of Robert Frost, invited him to do a reading at his 1961 inauguration. Frost wrote a special poem, ‘Dedication’, but was unable to read it because of the glare of the sun. He ended up reciting from memory his piece, ‘The Gift Outright’.
· Four of his six children died before him. His daughter, Elinor died shortly after birth, Marjorie died while giving birth, son Elliot succumbed to cholera, and son Carol committed suicide.
· The only poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes for his poetic achievements! He won the awards for ‘New Hampshire: A poem with notes and Grace Notes’ (1924), ‘Collected Poems’ (1931), ‘A Further Range’ (1937), and ‘A Witness Tree’ (1943).
· He was an alcoholic, and suffered with depression. His father died of cholera when he was eight, and his mother died of cancer when she was twenty-nine.
· Ezra Pound wrote an endorsement for Frost for his poem, ‘A Boy’s Will’. This proved to propel Frost and his work to a larger audience.
· He wrote over 1000 poems in his lifetime. His official published work includes 8 books with 1500 poems.
· A mountain is named after the famous poet for his extraordinary achievements and contributions to poetry in his hometown of Ripton, Vermont. The mountain has an elevation of 2,513 ft.
· Before becoming an extremely acclaimed poet, Frost was a farmer. He worked on his grandmother’s farm and wrote poems during that time. However, the neighbors claimed that he was not much of a farmer.
Robert Frost receives award from President John F. Kennedy
Maybe one of Robert Frost’s most common quotes was…"I might say the core of all my writing was probably the five free years I had there on the farm down the road a mile or two from Derry Village toward Lawrence. The only thing we had was time and seclusion. I couldn't have figured on it in advance. I hadn't that kind of foresight. But it turned out right as a doctor's prescription." “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world.”
I think that the “lover’s quarrel with the world” that Frost speaks of has given the world a rich treasure of writings that lives on through his legacy.
Footnotes: Interesting Fact About Robert Frost - Jibhai Global; 8 interesting facts about Robert Frost | Times of India (indiatimes.com)