Poet Portrait:
e.e. cummings
Introduction:
One might not think a renowned poet would speak of making a mark in a toilet in his attempt to make his mark on the world, but e.e. cummings was no ordinary poet. e.e. cummings was a famous poet of the 20th century; is unique style in his poems helped him become the second most commonly known and read poet in the United States during his lifetime (“E.E. Cummings”). Being raised in a well-educated, literary family; Cummings had a strong background to develop in his chosen career. He wrote, on average, a poem everyday from the time he was 8 years old until he was through college at age 22 (“E(dward) […]”). What is even more extraordinary is he said his first rhyme at age three (Goodman). e.e. attended Harvard and studied etymology (“the study of historical linguistic change, especially as manifested in individual words”) (Dictionary.com) as well as syntax (“the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language”) (Dictionary.com). His childhood and studies at Harvard apparently influenced his success because he went on to win many awards including: Academy of American Poets Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, Charles Eliot Norton Professorship, Bollinger Prize in Poetry, and the Ford Foundation grant (“E.E. Cummings”). These accomplishments were due to his incredible knack for writing poetry in a unique style that was unprecedented. His first published book of poetry was Tulips and Chimneys (Costello).
Biographical Information:
e.e.’s full name was Edward Estlin Cummings (Costello), however, he preferred to go by his writer’s moniker, e.e. cummings; which may help explain his seemingly odd use of capitalization, or lack of, in his poetry. He grew...
... middle of paper ...
...word genuine. However, he is completely correct, it’s as plainly genuine as any other example. He uses this to alter the meaning of genuine to express a sense of reality rather than its typical connotation of some object of greatness. Cummings is as well known for using puns and metaphors!
Works Cited
Costello, Bonnie. “Cummings E.E.” World Book Advanced World Book, 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011
Cummings, E.E. No Thanks. New York: Liveright Publishing: 1998. Print.
Dictionary.com. 2011. 22 Mar. 2011
“E(dward) E(stin) Cummings.” Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors. Gale, 2003. Web. 09 Mar. 2011
“E. E. Cummings.” Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 1997. Web. 08 Mar. 2011
Goodman, Loren. “E.E. Cummings.” World Poets. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 2000. p. 291 – 303. Print.
Billy Collins is one of the most credited poets of this century and last. He is a man of many talents, most recognized though by his provocative and riveting poetry. As John McEnroe was to the sport of tennis, Billy Collins has done the same for the world of poetry. Collin’s rejected the old ways of poetry, created his own form, broke all the rules, and still retains the love and respect of the poet community. Collins has received the title of Poet Laureate of the United States twice and also has received countless awards and acknowledgements. He has achieved this through a style of poetry that is not over-interpreted and hard to understand to most, but that of the complete opposite, his poetry is hospitable and playful.
...us 75.1 (Jan. 1991): 150-159. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
...and traveling filled life. He visited the soviet union in 1931 to view their system of art and was dissapointed with the minimal amount of artistic freedom allowed. Cummings went on to develop various forms of literature throughout the rest of his life and eventually recieved numerous awards such as the Shelley memorial award for poetry and the Bollingen prize for poetry and continued to give speeches and poetry readings across the country until his death (Blank). Cummings is a great example of a person who does not let anything deter him from his goals. Even though Cummings had a traumatizing experience during WWI, Cummings did not let that shake him from his ultimate goal which was to excel at becoming a poet. Cummings was a very important man in the world of literature and he proved it by his constant poetry readings and lectures given across the united states.
So begins No Thanks, a book of poetry written by the already well-established Edward Estlin Cummings. When most people think of poetry, certain vocabulary comes to mind. Imagery. Rhyme. Meter. Flow. Figurative language. When the poetry of E.E. Cummings is mentioned, these stereotypical poetic techniques are forgotten. Instead, the mind focuses on Cummings' technique of avoiding technique. The lack of capitalization and nonstandard punctuation most likely begin the list of Cummings' nonrules in the minds of many. Sadly, the knowledge of...
3. Ellmann, Richard. Modern Poems: A Norton Introduction. p. 797-803. W.W. Norton and Company, 1973.
Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
During E. E. Cummings ' life, he made many arguments in favor of individualism and condemned conformity. During a speech at Harvard, he once stated, "So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was, is, and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality" ("E. E. Cummings"). His unique writing style is also a testament to how he valued individuality and creativity—how his poetic style was drastically different from most of the poetry that had been written before him.
Edward Estlin Cummings, commonly referred to as E. E. Cummings, was born on October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a source of vast knowledge and was responsible for many creative works other than his poetry, such as novels, plays, and paintings. He published his first book of poetry Tulips and Chimneys in 1923. Many of his poems are known for the visual effects they create through his unusual placement of words on the page, as well as, his lack of punctuation and capitalization. The manner in which Cummings arranges the words of his poems creates an image in the reader's mind of the topic he is discussing, such as a season or climbing stairs. His visual style also brings emotions, such as loneliness or cheerfulness, to the reader's mind. Due to this creativity, Cummings won many awards, such as the National Book Award and the Bollingen Prize in poetry (Marks 17).
Ellmann, Richard and Robert O’Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988.
Holbrook, David. Llareggub Revisted: Dylan Thomas and the State of Modern Poetry. Cambridge: Bowes and Bowes, 1965. 100-101.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. An Introduction to Poetry. 13th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 21. Print.
Art is in everything. Artists can be experts with a paintbrush, phenomenal with piano or a master of their pen. Authors and poets have a chance to manipulate words like no other artist can. Poets in particular can use their words to encompass different kinds of art by painting a picture with lyrical rhythm and imagery. Poets may be common, but for their poetry to be timeless it must be universally relatable. Edgar Allen Poe is regarded as one of the most famous poets in American history due to his well renowned debauchery, gothic tales of terror, and poems which are taught in schools and still analyzed today.
Critical Survey of Poetry. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 7.
Robert Lee Frost was born in San Francisco, California on March 26 of 1974 and died in Boston, Massachusetts on January 29 of 1963. Though he did not truly start publishing poems until age thirty-nine, Frost obtained four Pulitzer prizes in his writing career and was deemed one of the greatest twentieth century poets. His pastoral writing and skilled use of meter and rhythm has captured the attention of reader’s and critics for decades (Academic American, 345). Frost was very fond of nature and the beauty of things around him and illustrated this in many of his poems. A reviewer stated that Frost was “always occupied with the complicated task of simply being sincere” (Faggen, I). This statement describes the writer well in the sense that Frost’s works are very full of emotion. His use of the English language and the fact that he often seemed to be holding a little something back in his writing has made him one of the most celebrated American writers ever.
Works Cited Bergman, David, and Mark Epstein. The Heath Guide to Poetry. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company, 1983. Print. The. Lancashire, Ian.