A. R. Ammons

He met Phyllis at Wake Forest where she was a Spanish teacher and married her in 1949. The couple remained happily married till Ammons’s death.

He died of cancer in 2001, at the age of 75.

He was born to Willie and Lucy Della McKee Ammons in North Carolina. Throughout his childhood he remained at the same place, growing up in a cotton and tobacco farm. He was one of the three surviving children of his parents.

He attended Whiteville High School from where he graduated in 1943.

He served as a Navy destroyer stationed on board the U.S.S. Gunason during World War II and it was at this time that he started writing poetry. He continued his education after the war and enrolled at the Wake Forest University with a major in biology and graduated in 1949.

Following his graduation he pursued an M.A. in English from the University of California. After that he accepted a position working as a teacher and principal at Hattaras Elementary School.

He published his first book of poetry, ‘Ommateum’ in 1955, using his own money to fund the publication. It definitely was not a dream debut for him—his book sold only 16 copies over the next five years.

He joined the faculty of Cornell University in 1964 where he would serve for the rest of his career. He eventually became Goldwin Smith Professor of English and Poet in Residence and retired in 1998.

He published another collection of poems, ‘Expressions of Sea Level’ in 1964 in which he had presented the sea as having a form yet being formless, as being permanent yet impermanent. This book became very popular and he was catapulted to fame almost overnight.

The book ‘Sphere’ is considered his masterpiece. In this work the sphere in question is the earth itself and the poet writes about various topics ranging from galaxies to gas stations. Widely regarded as his best work, the book won much critical acclaim.