Difference between revisions of "Conrad Aiken"
DavidB4-bot (talk | contribs) (Spelling, grammar, and general cleanup) |
(cosmetics) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | '''Conrad Aiken''' (1889-1973) was an American | + | '''Conrad Aiken''' (1889-1973) was an American poet and writer of short stories. His works include ''The House of Dust: A Symphony'' (1920), ''Selected Poems'' (1929), ''Conversation'' (or ''Pilgrim's Progress'') (1940), ''The Soldier'' (1944), ''The Kid'' (1947), and ''UShant: An Essay'' (1952). He won a Pulitzer Prize for ''Selected Poems''.<ref>''The New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference''. Prentice Hall, New York, 1993.</ref> Unlike the Freudian authors of his time, he believed in a deeper psyche and the works of Carl Jung, and was a practicing Unitarian. |
==Life and Works== | ==Life and Works== | ||
| − | Conrad Aiken Potter was born on August 5, 1889, in Savannah, Georgia, to a New York doctor father and a Unitarian minister mother, but his father killed his mother and himself when Aiken was 11.<ref>http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/conrad-aiken-1889-1973</ref> This was greatly psychologically disturbing to him, and one of his chief influences along with his Harvard philosophy professor, [[George Santayana]].<ref name="poet">https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/conrad-aiken</ref> He attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard in 1912, along with [[T.S. Eliot]].<ref>https://www.poemhunter.com/conrad-potter-aiken/biography/</ref> | + | Conrad Aiken Potter was born on August 5, 1889, in Savannah, Georgia, to a New York doctor father and a Unitarian minister mother, but his father killed his mother and himself when Aiken was 11.<ref>"Aiken, Conrad." ''Georgia Encyclopedia: Arts and Culture''. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/conrad-aiken-1889-1973</ref> This was greatly psychologically disturbing to him, and one of his chief influences along with his Harvard philosophy professor, [[George Santayana]].<ref name="poet">"Conrad Aiken." ''Poetry Foundation''. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/conrad-aiken</ref> He attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard in 1912, along with [[T.S. Eliot]].<ref>"Conrad Aiken - |
| + | Bio." ''Poem Hunter''. https://www.poemhunter.com/conrad-potter-aiken/biography/</ref> | ||
| − | He contributed to ''Dial'' magazine, where he met [[Ezra Pound]], and published his first volume, ''Earth Poetry'', in 1914 | + | He contributed to ''Dial'' magazine, where he met [[Ezra Pound]], and published his first volume, ''Earth Poetry'', in 1914. This established him as a poet, which he cited as an excuse to avoid the [[World War One]] draft. He continued to work as a poet before World War Two, marrying three times, crossing the Atlantic many times, publishing essays in ''Scepticisms'' (1919), and winning the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for his ''Selected Poems''.<ref>"Aiken, Conrad (1889-1973)." ''Harvard Square Library''. June 26, 2002. http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies/conrad-aiken-unitarian-prodigy-poet/</ref> He was greatly influenced in this time by [[Sigmund Freud]] and [[Carl Jung]], and many of his novels, such as ''The Great Circle'' (1933), involve characters in need of psychoanalysis.<ref>http://biography.yourdictionary.com/conrad-aiken</ref> He was likely better known for his short stories than his poems in the style of music.<ref>"Aiken, Conrad." ''Encyclopedia Britannica Online''.</ref> While much of them, especially "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," include characters that are parallel to Aiken's psyche, he only published a complete replica of himself in his autobiography, ''UShant''.<ref name="poet" /> He died August 17, 1973, in Savannah, Georgia. |
==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 15: | Line 16: | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Conrad}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Conrad}} | ||
| − | [[Category:American | + | [[Category:American Poets]] |
| + | [[Category:Short Story Writers]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Georgia]] | ||
Revision as of 13:19, June 1, 2017
Conrad Aiken (1889-1973) was an American poet and writer of short stories. His works include The House of Dust: A Symphony (1920), Selected Poems (1929), Conversation (or Pilgrim's Progress) (1940), The Soldier (1944), The Kid (1947), and UShant: An Essay (1952). He won a Pulitzer Prize for Selected Poems.[1] Unlike the Freudian authors of his time, he believed in a deeper psyche and the works of Carl Jung, and was a practicing Unitarian.
Life and Works
Conrad Aiken Potter was born on August 5, 1889, in Savannah, Georgia, to a New York doctor father and a Unitarian minister mother, but his father killed his mother and himself when Aiken was 11.[2] This was greatly psychologically disturbing to him, and one of his chief influences along with his Harvard philosophy professor, George Santayana.[3] He attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard in 1912, along with T.S. Eliot.[4]
He contributed to Dial magazine, where he met Ezra Pound, and published his first volume, Earth Poetry, in 1914. This established him as a poet, which he cited as an excuse to avoid the World War One draft. He continued to work as a poet before World War Two, marrying three times, crossing the Atlantic many times, publishing essays in Scepticisms (1919), and winning the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for his Selected Poems.[5] He was greatly influenced in this time by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and many of his novels, such as The Great Circle (1933), involve characters in need of psychoanalysis.[6] He was likely better known for his short stories than his poems in the style of music.[7] While much of them, especially "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," include characters that are parallel to Aiken's psyche, he only published a complete replica of himself in his autobiography, UShant.[3] He died August 17, 1973, in Savannah, Georgia.
References
- ↑ The New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference. Prentice Hall, New York, 1993.
- ↑ "Aiken, Conrad." Georgia Encyclopedia: Arts and Culture. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/conrad-aiken-1889-1973
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Conrad Aiken." Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/conrad-aiken
- ↑ "Conrad Aiken - Bio." Poem Hunter. https://www.poemhunter.com/conrad-potter-aiken/biography/
- ↑ "Aiken, Conrad (1889-1973)." Harvard Square Library. June 26, 2002. http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies/conrad-aiken-unitarian-prodigy-poet/
- ↑ http://biography.yourdictionary.com/conrad-aiken
- ↑ "Aiken, Conrad." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
External links
- Poems at the Black Cat Poetry website
- Poems at the Poem hunter website
- Extensive Biography by the Poetry Foundation