Theodore Roethke (pronounced /ˈrɛtkə/ RET-kə) (May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet, who published several volumes of poetry characterized by its rhythm and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book, The Waking.
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Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan. His father, Otto Roethke, was a French immigrant, who owned a large local greenhouse along with his brother (Theodore's uncle). Much of Theodore's childhood was spent in this greenhouse, as reflected by the use of natural images in his poetry. The poet's adolescent years were jarred, however, by his uncle's suicide and by the death of his father from cancer, both in early 1923, when Theodore (Ted) was only 15. These deaths powerfully shaped Roethke's psyche and creative life.
He attended the University of Michigan and then here he briefly attended law school before entering Harvard University, where he studied under the poet Robert Hillyer. Abandoning graduate study for economic reasons (the Great Depression), he taught English at several universities, including Lafayette College, Pennsylvania State University and Bennington College.[1]
In 1940, he was expelled from his position at Lafayette and he returned to Michigan. Just prior to his return, he had an affair with established poet and critic Louise Bogan, who later became one of his strongest early supporters.[2] While teaching at Michigan State University in East Lansing, he began to suffer from manic depression, which fueled his poetic impetus. His last teaching position was at the University of Washington, leading to an association with the poets of the American Northwest.
In 1953, Roethke married Beatrice O'Connell, a former student. Roethke did not inform O'Connell of his repeated episodes of depression, yet she remained dedicated to Roethke and his work. She ensured the posthumous publication of his final volume of poetry, The Far Field. Its best known, and certainly most eloquently luminous poem, is Roethke's 'Meditation at Oyster River'. Widely reprinted, 'Meditation' conveys a shock of lyrical recognition, an elevated naturalism, and a simplicity perhaps more engaging than any other of his work. Roethke, and this poem in particular, was deeply admired by the great conductor Carlos Kleiber.
In 1961, Roethke's The Return was featured on George Abbe's Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry album on Folkways Records. The following year, Roethke performed on and released his own album on the label entitled, Words for the Wind: Poems of Theodore Roethke. [3]
Theodore Roethke suffered a heart attack in his friend S. Rasnics' swimming pool in 1963 and died on Bainbridge Island, Washington, aged 55. The pool was later filled in and is now a zen rock garden, which can be viewed by the public at the Bloedel Reserve, a 150-acre (60 hectare) former private estate. There is no sign to indicate that the rock garden was the site of Roethke's death.
However, there is a sign that commemorates Roethke's boyhood home and burial in Saginaw, Michigan. The historical marker notes in part:
The Friends of Theodore Roethke Foundation maintains his birthplace at 1805 Gratiot in Saginaw, MI as a museum. Hours are normally weekend afternoons, and by appointment. The Foundation also sponsors readings and guests who knew or worked with Roethke from time to time. The Friends website is: http://www.roethkehomemuseum.org/picnics08.php
or http://www.roethkehomemuseum.org/index.php for their main homepage.
Theodore Roethke (pronounced /ˈrɛtkə/ RET-kə) (May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet, who published several volumes of poetry characterized by its rhythm and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book, The Waking.
Contents |
Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan. His father, Otto, was a German immigrant, a market-gardener who owned a large local greenhouse, along with his brother (Theodore's uncle). Much of Theodore's childhood was spent in this greenhouse, as reflected by the use of natural images in his poetry. The poet's adolescent years were jarred, however, by his uncle's suicide and by the death of his father from cancer, both in early 1923, when Theodore (Ted) was only 15. These deaths shaped Roethke's psyche and creative life.
He attended the University of Michigan, then he briefly attended law school before entering Harvard University, where he studied under the poet Robert Hillyer. Abandoning graduate study because of the Great Depression, he taught English at several universities, including Lafayette College, Pennsylvania State University, and Bennington College.[1]
In 1940, he was expelled from his position at Lafayette and he returned to Michigan. Just prior to his return, he had an affair with established poet and critic Louise Bogan, who later became one of his strongest early supporters.[2] While teaching at Michigan State University in East Lansing, he began to suffer from manic depression, which fueled his poetic impetus. His last teaching position was at the University of Washington, leading to an association with the poets of the American Northwest.
In 1953, Roethke married Beatrice O'Connell, a former student. Like many other American poets of his generation, Roethke was a heavy drinker and susceptible, as mentioned, to bouts of mental illness. He did not inform O'Connell of his repeated episodes of depression, yet she remained dedicated to him and his work. She ensured the posthumous publication of his final volume of poetry, The Far Field, which includes the poem "Meditation at Oyster River."
In 1961, "The Return" was featured on George Abbe's album Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry on Folkways Records. The following year, Roethke released his own album on the label entitled, Words for the Wind: Poems of Theodore Roethke.[3]
He suffered a heart attack in his friend S. Rasnics' swimming pool in 1963 and died on Bainbridge Island, Washington, aged 55. The pool was later filled in and is now a zen rock garden, which can be viewed by the public at the Bloedel Reserve, a 150-acre (60 hectare) former private estate. There is no sign to indicate that the rock garden was the site of Roethke's death.
There is a sign that commemorates his boyhood home and burial in Saginaw, Michigan. The historical marker notes in part:
Theodore Roethke (1908–1963) wrote of his poetry: The greenhouse "is my symbol for the whole of life, a womb, a heaven-on-earth." Roethke drew inspiration from his childhood experiences of working in his family's Saginaw floral company. Beginning is 1941 with Open House, the distinguished poet and teacher published extensively, receiving a Pulitzer Prize for poetry and two National Book Awards among an array of honors. In 1959 Pennsylvania University awarded him the Bollingen Prize. Roethke taught at Michigan State College, (present-day Michigan State University) and at colleges in Pennsylvania and Vermont, before joining the faculty of the University of Washington at Seattle in 1947. Roethke died in Washington in 1963. His remains are interred in Saginaw's Oakwood Cemetery.[4]
The Friends of Theodore Roethke Foundation maintains his birthplace at 1805 Gratiot in Saginaw as a museum.
In Against Oblivion, an examination of forty-five twentieth century poets, the critic Ian Hamilton wrote: "Roethke's best gift as a poet was for touching, small-scale lyricism (see Elegy for Jane, My Papa's Waltz). More and more though he was drawn towards what he believed to be the 'major' themes: man and God, Eternity, the Universe, and so on. Spiritual afflatus took over from direct experience; inspiration was supplanted by ambition. In this sense, Roethke was a typical mid-century case study." [5] "Early on, the chief influence was W.H.Auden. Later, Roethke turned to Walt Whitman - who ... seems to have directed Roethke back to the intent scrutiny of nature that marked his early, so-called 'greenhouse' poems. In Roethke's second book, The Lost Son, there are several of these greenhouse poems and they are among the best things he wrote; convincing and exact, and rich in loamy detail." [6]
Critical opinion of his later poems is mixed, with some critics pointing toward The Far Field as a resounding final accomplishment and others as an incomplete book of mixed quality. The book itself is filled with polarity, dealing with the twin strains of physical and spiritual reality within Roethke's mysticism (which matured during his final years), chiefly dealt with in the "North American Sequence" and "Sequence, Sometimes Metaphysical".[citation needed]
| Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Theodore Roethke |
Theodore Huebner Roethke (IPA: ['ɹ ɛ t.ki]; RET-key) (1908-05-25 – 1963-08-01) was an American poet who published several volumes of poetry characterized by their rhythm and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book, The Waking.
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Tell me:
Which is the way I take;
Out of what door do I go,
Where and to whom?
I know the motion of the deepest stone.
Each one's himself, yet each one's everyone.
And everything comes to One,
As we dance on, dance on, dance on.
  | Stanely Kunitz on his friend Theodore Roethke - CROSSROADS | Poets on Poets |
| | Selected Poetry of Louise Bogan (1897-1970) - RPO -- Selected Poetry of Louise Bogan (1897-1970) |
| | Theodore Roethke Michigan's Poet" by Linda Robinson Walker at ''Michigan Today'' (Summer 2001) - Summer 2001 Michigan Today--Theodore Roethke, Michigan's poet, part 1 of 3 |
| | Brief biography at Famous Poets and Poems - Theodore Roethke Biography |
| | "Theodore Roethke Remembered - HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History |
| | Brief biography at Washington State History - HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History |
| | Michigan Historic Markers. - Michigan Historical Markers |
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