Theodore Roethke

@Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet, Birthday and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Theodore Roethke was a Pulitzer Prize winning American Poet Michigan Depression American Harvard University University Of Michigan Writers Poets Gemini Celebrities Theodore Huebner Roethke was an American poet who is regarded as one of the most influential poets of his generation. He is famous for the intricate work that he produced in his lifetime—elaborative in human emotions, extensive in introspection and artistically woven with natural imagery. His works like ‘The Waking’, ‘Words for the Wind’ and ‘The Far Field’ have been critically appreciated for their reflective quality and won him prestigious awards like, the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, the National Book Award for Poetry, etc. Roethke spent most of his life teaching at different educational institutes, writing for various publications and compiling his own work. He taught at the Lafayette College, the Michigan State College, the Pennsylvania State University, etc. and wrote for publications like—‘Poetry’, ‘Saturday Review’, ‘New Republic’, etc. Roethke suffered from manic depression and drinking problem throughout his adult life, a probable scar gathered from his childhood experience of losing his father to cancer and his uncle’s suicide at the same time. The incident made the young Roethke a recluse who looked at nature to find solace, which ultimately shaped his psyche and his creativity for life.

Personal Details

Birthday: May 25, 1908 Died on: August 1, 1963 Nationality: American Famous: Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet, Harvard University, University Of Michigan, Writers, Poets City/State: Michigan Known as: Theodore Huebner Roethke Universities: Harvard University,University Of Michigan Arthur Hill High School University of Michigan Harvard University Information Detail Birthday May 25, 1908 Died on August 1, 1963 Nationality American Famous Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet, Harvard University, University Of Michigan, Writers, Poets City/State Michigan Known as Theodore Huebner Roethke Universities Harvard University,University Of Michigan Arthur Hill High School University of Michigan Harvard University Notable Alumnis Harvard University University Of Michigan Birth Place Saginaw, Michigan Gender Male Father Otto Sun Sign Gemini Born in Saginaw, Michigan Famous as Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet Died at Age 55

Saginaw, Michigan

Theodore Roethke born at Unsplash Birth Place

In 1953, Roethke got married to Beatrice O’Connell. He got acquainted with her for the first time while teaching at the Bennington. After marriage he spent a couple of years honeymooning with her at W.H Auden’s villa in Italy. Unsplash Personal Life

He died on August 1, 1963 after suffering from a heart attack in his friend S. Rasnics’ swimming pool, on Bainbridge Island, Washington. He was 55 years old at the time. Unsplash Personal Life

Theodore Roethke was born on May 25, 1908 in Michigan to Otto Roethke and Helen Huebner. His father was a market-gardener who owned a large greenhouse. Roethke grew up around the Saginaw River and spent most of his time in the greenhouse. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He attended the Aurthur Hill High School. In1923, at the age of 14, his close uncle’s suicide and father’s death because of cancer shook his life. This event is said to have shaped Roethke’s lifelong psyche and creativity. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1925, Roethke got enrolled in the University of Michigan. His family wanted him to have a legal career but he quit law school only after the first semester. He later attended Harvard University to study under a poet. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Because of the great financial and social impact of the Great Depression, Roethke had to leave Harvard and teach at Lafayette College from 1931 to 1935. It was here that he started working on his first book, ‘Open House’. Unsplash Career

By the end of 1935, he started teaching at Michigan State College but could not live up to the pressures of it and suffered from an episode of mental breakdown. It gave him time to explore his writing caliber. Unsplash Career

Roethke started teaching at the Pennsylvania State University in 1936, where his reputation as a poet was established. He taught in this university for seven years and side by side, got published in prominent publications like, ‘Poetry’, ‘Saturday Review’, ‘etc. Unsplash Career

In 1941, his first book, ‘Open House’, was published and got rave reviews in publications like, ‘New Yorker’, ‘Kenyon Review’, ‘Atlantic’, etc. His work showed influences from writers like, Emily Dickinson, Louise Bogan, Stanley Kuntiz, etc. Unsplash Career

Roethke was asked by Harvard to deliver on their esteemed Morris Gray lectures in 1942. In 1943, started teaching at the Bennington College and it was here that he started writing, ‘The Lost Son and Other Poems’. Unsplash Career

‘Words For The Winds’, a collection of forty-three poems published in 1958, is considered to be Roethke’s most prominent work, and he won many prestigious awards for it. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	May 25, 1908
Died on	August 1, 1963
Nationality	American
Famous	Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet, Harvard University, University Of Michigan, Writers, Poets
City/State	Michigan
Known as	Theodore Huebner Roethke
Universities	Harvard University,University Of Michigan Arthur Hill High School University of Michigan Harvard University
Notable Alumnis	Harvard University University Of Michigan
Birth Place	Saginaw, Michigan
Gender	Male
Father	Otto
Sun Sign	Gemini
Born in	Saginaw, Michigan
Famous as	Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet
Died at Age	55

Theodore Roethke

American

May 25, 1908

Biography

Personal Details

Saginaw, Michigan