Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 - August 2, 1955) was an American Modernist poet.

Biography

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Stevens attended Harvard, after which he moved to New York City and briefly worked as a journalist. He then attended New York Law School, graduating in 1903. By 1908 he had been hired as a bonding lawyer for an insurance firm, and by 1914 he was the vice-president of the New York Office of the Equitable Surety Company of St. Louis, Missouri. When this job was abolished as a result of mergers in 1916, he joined the home office of Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company and left New York City to live in Hartford, where he would remain the rest of his life. By 1934, he had been named vice-president of the company.

Related Topics:
Reading, Pennsylvania - Harvard - New York City - Journalist - New York Law School - 1903 - 1908 - Bonding lawyer - Insurance - 1914 - St. Louis, Missouri - 1916 - Hartford - 1934

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On a trip back to Reading in 1904, Stevens met Elsie Moll, whom he married, after a long courtship, in 1909. The marriage reputedly turned cold and distant, but the Stevenses never divorced.

Related Topics:
1904 - 1909

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Stevens' his first book of poetry, Harmonium, was published in 1923. He produced only two more major books of poetry during the 1920s and 1930s but three more in the 1940s. Some have argued that his best poetry was written after he turned 60. It was in this later period that Stevens began to be recognized as a major poet, and he received the National Book Award in 1950 and 1954.

Related Topics:
Harmonium - 1923 - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - National Book Award - 1950 - 1954

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