About
Edna St. Vincent Millay was born in Rockland, Maine, and raised in a single-parent household. Her poem 'Renascence' (1912) brought her national attention. After graduating from Vassar, she led a bohemian life in Greenwich Village, writing and acting with the Provincetown Players. In 1923, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Married to Eugen Boissevain, she settled at Steepletop, New York. Politically engaged, she protested the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. She also wrote the libretto for the opera The King's Henchman. Her work includes sonnets, plays, and lyric poems.
* 1892-02-22 — † 1950-10-19
Major works
- Renascence and Other Poems (1917)poetry collection
- A Few Figs from Thistles (1920)poetry collection
- The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems (1923)poetry collection
- The King's Henchman (1927)opera libretto
- Fatal Interview (1931)sonnet collection
Key milestones
- 1923First woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
- 1927Participated in protests against the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti.
- 1940Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Themes
Love and passionNature and seasonsDeath and mortalityFemale independencePolitical engagement
Sources: findingaids.loc.gov · poetryfoundation.org · poets.org