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Classic Authors: Robert Frost

© Susan Jensen

Although he was widely known as a New England poet, Robert Lee Frost began his life in San Francisco, where he was born on March 26, 1874. Robert moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts, following his father's death in 1885. After his father's death, the family experienced financial troubles; Robert's mother began teaching school to support her children.

Too nervous to attend public schools, Robert received much of his early education at home. He attended high school in Lawrence, where he became interested in reading and writing. He published several of his poems in the school newspaper and also became valedictorian of his class. He shared the honor with his fiancee-to-be, Elinor White. They became engaged soon after graduating from high school.

After high school, Robert spent brief periods at both Dartmouth College and Harvard. He never received a formal degree, although he would receive many honorary degrees in his lifetime. Robert dabbled in several trades, including cobbler, teacher, editor, reporter, and farmer. In fact, he spent 10 years working on a farm in Derry, New Hampshire.

His first poem, "My Butterfly," was published in The Independent, a New York literary journal, on November 8, 1894. A year later, on December 19, Robert finally married Elinor White. Together, they had six children.

In 1912, Robert sold the Derry farm and moved his family to England, where he prepared to become a full-time writer. There he met and was influenced by writers such as Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, and Ezra Pound. With their help, he was able to publish two collections of poetry, A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914). By the time he returned to the United States in 1915, he was beginning to enjoy fame in his own country. By the 1920s, he had become one of the most celebrated poets in America.

Robert received many honors and accolades throughout his career. He was given four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry in 1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943. One of his greatest honors came in 1961 when he read his poem "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration. President Kennedy later sent Robert to the Soviet Union on a goodwill mission.

Robert Frost's poetry tended to focus on life in New England, yet his themes are universally applicable and appealing. This made his work endure even after his death in 1963. Today, he is known as one of America's greatest poets.

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