Biography of Edward Estlin Cummings

Innovative passion for words

14 October 1894
September 3, 1962
Edward Estlin Cummings was born on 14 October 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father is a Professor of sociology and political science at Harvard, and encourages early literary and poetic inclinations of the son. Suffice it to say that the first evidence of Edward goes back to his first three years of life. He studied at Harvard University, where, in 1916, he graduated with honours in English and classical studies, and especially in Latin and Greek. During University continues to cultivate his passion for poetry, analyzing the writing of Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. Some of his work are also published in the school paper. The poems of this period will then be collected in the text "eight Harvard poets" (1920). The outbreak of World War I in 1917 decides to enlist, but an administrative mistake forces him to stay Paris for five weeks. Thus was born his visceral love for the French capital, which will return frequently.
Due to a series of letters exchanged with his friend William Slater, in which both express opinions contrary to the war for three months, he was arrested and remains in the field of La Ferté-Macé in Normandy. In December of that year, thanks to the intercession of father who writes a letter to President Woodrow Wilson, is repatriated. Edward recounts the experience of captivity in the autobiographical novel "The enormous room". In the novel describes all the characters he met during his three months of captivity, ironically on the consequences of an application too pedantic and blind rules. The new year of 1917 comes home, but was soon drafted.
12TH Division at Camp Devens lends itself so service in until November 1918. From 1921 to 1923 he lives permanently in Paris, then re-enters United States. Doesn't stop, though, never to travel, crossing during his wanderings several characters including Pablo Picasso. Makes even a trip to the Soviet Union which says in the novel "Eimi" (1933). Its concentration on the poetic activity is encouraged by a terrible accident in which his father lost his life. The pain of loss makes him understand that he should concentrate on the important things of life which to him are the lines of his poetry. Publish at this period many poetical works, including "Tulips & Chimneys" (1923), "XLI Poems" (1926), "Christmas Tree" (1928), "No thanks" (1935) and "Collected Poems" (1938). E. e. Cummings is an avant-garde poet who often uses traditional forms such as the sonnet. Themes are classic: her poems often deal with love, relationship between man and nature and the relationship between the individual and the mass. The influence of currents such as Dadaism and Surrealism, to whom approached during stays in Paris, gives birth in him a certain rejection of traditional syntax.
As for Ezra Pound, even for Edward pittrografica nature poetry. In his text the letters that punctuation marks take on a meaning from the point of view of rhythm. His innovative passion for words leads him to create continuously new blending together proper nouns, adverbs, prepositions and common nouns. His idea of intimate vitality of letters down on words many different meanings, increased and strengthened by frequent puns. Cummings's talent is not addressed only to the composition of poetry. He writes novels, children's books and four comedies: "Him" (1927), "Anthropos: or, the future of art" (1930), "Tom: a ballet" (1935) and "Santa Claus: a morality" (1946). Resides since 1924 in Greenwich Village, moving only for his travels.
From 1932 he lives a romance with his third partner, the photographer and model Marion Morehouse. The two have been working together to a text, "Adventure in Value", which contains photos of Marion accompanied by words of comment by Edward. In the aftermath of the second World War many young poets are in Cummings their guidance. Edward begins to receive a number of awards, and in 1952 Harvard University grants him an Honorary Professorship. He spent the last years of his life traveling, carrying out tasks like reader and carving out moments of summer rest at his home in New Hampshire. Edward Estlin Cummings dies at age 67 years on 3 September 1962 to a cardiac arrest. At the time of his death is the second most widely read American poet after Robert Frost.
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