Robert Frost - Bio and Poems

He is known for poems such as "Nothing Gold Can Stay," "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "The Sound of the Trees." He has received forty honorary degrees from various universities including Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, and he is one of the most influential poets of the 20th century.

Robert Lee Frost was born in San Francisco, California on March 26, 1874 to Isabelle and William Frost. Following his father's death in May of 1885, Frost and his mother moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts with help from his grandfather William Frost Sr. A few years later in 1892, Frost finished high school, and briefly attended Darthmouth College. Over the next few years Frost held a number of jobs, and continued to dream of being a full time poet. During November 1894, Frost sold his first poem; its name was "My Butterfly: An Elegy." He was so proud of himself he proposed to his sweetheart Elinor White. She rejected his proposal preferring to finish college before getting married. Frost was distraught; he  went on an excursion to the swamplands in Virgina. Later in 1895 following Elinor's graduation, they were married. Later in 1897 Frost attended Harvard for a few years; however, he didn't graduate. Although he did well at Harvard, he was forced to leave school to support his family. For the next few years, he worked as a farmer, shoemaker, and a teacher.

Frost's grandfather purchased a farm for him and his wife in Derry, New Hampshire. For the next few years, Frost tried to be a successful farmer, and write poems in his spare time. It didn't work out, Frost returned to teaching. Around this time, he tried to submit a few poems to Atlantic Monthly for publication; the poems were rejected. Ironically enough, many of the poems he wrote during these years would later make him famous.

In 1912 desiring a change of scenery, Frost sold his farm and moved his wife and kids to London, England, securing a home north of London.

The first book published in England was called "A Boy Will." This book was followed by "North Boston" in 1914; this book gained international exposure for Frost, and it contained some of his best works such as "Mending Wall," "Death of the Hired Man," and :"Home Burial." In addition during his time in England, Frost made some important acquaintances such as Edward Thomas, William Butler Yeats and Ezra Pound. These people would influence and help him to promote his works.

In 1915 on the eve of World War one, Frost returned to the United States, and purchased a farm near Franconia, New Hampshire.This location would serve as his summer home until 1938, and it was here he would write and teach. Around this time, the editor of Atlantic Monthly contacted him requesting some of his poems for publishing. What Frost submitted were the same poems that had been rejected a few years earlier.

During his time in England, Frost had published two full length collections, and by the early 1920's his reputation in the United States was firmly established. As the years passed, and with books such as "A Further Range," "Steeple Bush," and "In the Clearing" his notoriety increased. Despite the death of his wife in 1938 and outliving four of his six children, his legend continued to grow. For the remainder of his life, Frost continued to teach and write; It didn't stop here. Frost was also recipient of many awards such as the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Edward MacDowell Medal both received in 1962. In addition he received Four Pulitzer's, and in 1958 was selected as poetry consultant to the Library of Congress.

At the age of eighty-six in January 1961, he performed a reading of his poetry at president John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Two years later on January 29, 1963 Robert Frost passed away. Although he is gone, his spirit lives on in his poetry that brought joy to so many around the world.

• Wikipedia.org - Listing of Poet Laureate's in the United States
• Internal.org - Listing of Robert Frost's Poems
• Wikipedia.org - Information on Robert Frost