Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay was born on February 22, 1892. She was an American poet and playwright. Millay was the first American woman poet to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

Something remarkable in the life of Edna St. Vincent Millay was the situation of poverty in which she grew up. Her mother divorced her school master father who became an alcoholic spendthrift. As a result, Edna’s mother had to struggle with her three daughters to survive. Thus the experience of poverty was a hallmark in the life of Edna.

Though in their poverty they had to travel from place to place seeking support from their friends and relations, Edna’s mother carried one thing with them always. That was a trunk full of literature. She read Shakespeare, Milton and other English writers to her children. Thus while Edna tasted poverty she also tasted literature. Later on her works was a combination of the experience of these two facets of her life.

Edna St. Vincent Millay was died October 19, 1950.