Theodore Roethke Biography

Theodore Huebner Roethke was an American poet who is regarded as one of the most influential poets of his generation. He is famous for the intricate work that he produced in his lifetime—elaborative in human emotions, extensive in introspection and artistically woven with natural imagery. His works like ‘The Waking’, ‘Words for the Wind’ and ‘The Far Field’ have been critically appreciated for their reflective quality and won him prestigious awards like, the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, the National Book Award for Poetry, etc. Roethke spent most of his life teaching at different educational institutes, writing for various publications and compiling his own work. He taught at the Lafayette College, the Michigan State College, the Pennsylvania State University, etc. and wrote for publications like—‘Poetry’, ‘Saturday Review’, ‘New Republic’, etc. Roethke suffered from manic depression and drinking problem throughout his adult life, a probable scar gathered from his childhood experience of losing his father to cancer and his uncle’s suicide at the same time. The incident made the young Roethke a recluse who looked at nature to find solace, which ultimately shaped his psyche and his creativity for life.