Frost, Robert - Life

Robert Frost

He is usually considered the most representative of the New England poetic tradition. In this sense he is a regionalist because it was this region that provided him with a rich material which also suited his personality and his poetic method. Deeply individualistic, he was not influenced by any of the modern avant-garde schools of poetry of the time. His verse, apparently so simple and beautiful, is actually the result of the exact observation and careful attention to detail and, more than his themes, is the cause of his high reputation as a poet.
Although Robert Frost was actually born in San Francisco, he is regarded as a typical "New England" poet, due to the fact that his poems are closely linked to the countryside o the area. Frost's interest in poetry seems to have developed late; he went to college, but left without taking a degree and worked at various jobs - including teaching and journalism - while writing poetry. Later he turned to farming in New Hamsphire, but failed to make enough money to support himself and his family. In 1912, having received a small inheritance , he sold his farm and took his family to England, where he hoped to make a living by writing. He was fortunate enough to win recognition with his first volume of poems, immediately attracting a large circle of readers (partly through the good offices of Ezra Pound).
In 1915 he returned to the United States with his reputation established. He bought himself another farm in New Hamsphire, which provides the setting for many of his poems, but he actually made a living mainly by writing poetry and taking various university teaching posts. He lived on his farm as much as he could, and his poems are filled with references to this country setting. He venerated the countryside and the way of life associated with it. Frost was the U.S. Poet Laureate in 1958-59. He died in 1963.