Share

E. E. Cummings biography

1 photo

Quick Facts

  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • PLACE OF DEATH: North Conway, New Hampshire
more about E.

Best Known For

The romantic and sensual poems of E. E. Cummings are as popular today as they were when he first wrote them in the first half of the 20th Century.

Synopsis

Edward Estlin (E. E.) Cummings attended Harvard University before serving in WWI. Disillusioned by the war, he began to split his time between Paris and New York. His first book of verse, Tulips and Chimneys, was published in 1923. It was well-received, and he followed it with more collections. Cummings' poetry uses colloquial language to convey strong romantic sentiments.

Contents

Profile

(born October 14, 1894, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.—died September 3, 1962, North Conway, New Hampshire) American poet and painter who first attracted attention, in an age of literary experimentation, for his eccentric punctuation and phrasing. The spirit of New England dissent and of Emersonian “Self-Reliance” underlies the urbanized Yankee colloquialism of Cummings's verse. Cummings's name is often styled “e.e. cummings” in the mistaken belief that the poet legally changed his name to lowercase letters only. Cummings used capital letters only irregularly in his verse and did not object when publishers began lowercasing his name, but he himself capitalized his name in his signature and in the title pages of original editions of his books.

Cummings received his B.A. degree from Harvard University in 1915 and was awarded his M.A. in 1916. During World War I he served with an ambulance corps in France, where he was interned for a time in a detention camp because of his friendship with an American who had written letters home that the French censors thought critical of the war effort. This experience deepened Cummings's distrust of officialdom and was symbolically recounted in his first book, The Enormous Room (1922).

In the 1920s and '30s he divided his time between Paris, where he studied art, and New York City. His first book of verse was Tulips and Chimneys (1923), followed by XLI Poems and & (1925); in the latter year he received the Dial award for distinguished service to American letters.

In 1927 his play him was produced by the Provincetown Players in New York City. During these years he exhibited his paintings and drawings, but they failed to attract as much critical interest as his writings. Eimi (1933) recorded, in 432 pages of experimental prose, a 36-day visit to the Soviet Union, which confirmed his individualist repugnance for collectivism. He published his discussions as the Charles Eliot Norton lecturer on poetry at Harvard University (1952–53) under the title i: six nonlectures (1953).

In all he wrote 12 volumes of verse, assembled in his two-volume Complete Poems (1968). Cummings's moods were alternately satirical and tough or tender and whimsical. He frequently used the language of the streets and material from burlesque and the circus. His erotic poetry and love lyrics had a childlike candour and freshness.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com

ADVERTISEMENT

GetGlue

9263274 9263274
profile id: 9263274
profile name: E. E. Cummings
profile occupation:
related profile id: 9263274
related profile name: E. E. Cummings
related profile occupation:
related profile img: /imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/C/E-E-Cummings-9263274-1-402.jpg
related profile URL: /people/e-e-cummings-9263274
profile
pop
Your Connections

Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

specific profile connection
See More Bio Connections
Your Friends' Connections
specific friend connection
Profile Connections
    Show More Connections
    Included In These Groups

    See all related groups

    Celebrity Connections

    Show More Connections
    Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!