Educated at Harvard University, Robinson was forced to leave school because of family financial difficulties. He had already developed an avid interest in poetry as a young boy and was determined to become a poet. In 1896, he published The Torrent and the Night Before and followed in 1897 with Children of the Night, both of which were funded by friends since Robinson's own financial situation was precarious. He left Maine in 1897 and moved to New York City. By 1901, the last of the family money was gone leaving him destitude. In 1902, again with the help of friends, he published Captain Craig, however, the critics were still not impressed. In 1905, he was employed by the New York Customs House, through the intervention of Theodore Roosevelt whose son was a fan of Robinson's work. For the next four years he had ample funds to support himself, and time to continue writing. He lost his job in 1909 when Roosevelt left office and he returned to Maine where he published The Town Down the River which was dedicated to Roosevelt. This time the critics were favourable. From 1911, he began to spend his time divided between friends in New York and the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. In 1916, he published The Man Against the Sky, which received rave reviews and finally established Robinson as a great poet in the eyes of the critics. In 1921, his Collected Poems won the first Pulitzer Prize for poetry. In 1924, he received his second Pulitzer for The Man Who Died Twice. Again, in 1927, he won a Pulitzer for the third part of his Arthurian trilogy, Tristram (the others being Merlin (1917) and Lancelot (1920)) which also became a best-seller. Finally financially secure, Robinson published regularly for the remainder of his life. He is considered the first major American poet of the 20th century. He died in hospital while revising his final work, King Jaspar in 1935. His other works of note are Avon's Harvest (1921), Roman Bartholow (1925), Dionysus in Doubt (1925), Cavender's House (1929), Matthias at the Door (1931), Nicodemus (1932), Talifer (1933) and Amaranth (1934). |
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