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Edwin Arlington Robinson was born in Head Tide, Maine on December 22, 1869. His parents were Edward Robinson and Mary Robinson. His father was a prominent timber merchant and a civic leader. The family moved from Head Tide to Gardiner, Maine soon after Robinson's birth.
Ever since he was a young boy, Robinson was fascinated with writing and poetry. He began writing constantly at the age of 11, and when he was in high school, he attended his town's poetry society meetings as its youngest member. While in high school, he received lessons in poetical form from his neighbor, Dr. Schumann. Dr. Schumann was the man who introduced Robinson to the Gardiner Poetry Society meetings.
When Robinson was in his final year of high school, he met a rather influential woman in his life. He began taking dance classes in 1887, in which he met Emma Shepherd. She played a vital role in encouraging Robinson to write his poetry. Robinson's poetry during these years took a turn for the romantic side. However, the depth of their relationship was never known.
In the fall of 1891, Robinson entered Harvard University. His main goal there was to be published in one of the university's prestigious literary publications. Very soon after he arrived, one of his poems, Ballade of a Ship, was published in the Harvard Advocate-- a lesser magazine than his ultimate goal, the Harvard Monthly. Robinson's career at Harvard was unfortunately short-lived. He was forced to leave in 1893 because of his family's financial difficulties after his father's 1892 death. During this period in Robinson's life, his poetry began to take on the despondent tone that it maintained throughout his career.
In 1896, Robinson's mother, Mary Palmer Robinson, died of "black diphtheria." This event highly influenced Robinson's work. He began writing even darker poetry, analyzing the human situation in very simple, even ironic, verse. Robinson's poetry is characterized by his portrayals of men and women "suffering from life's ordeals yet striving to understand and master their fates." He is also noted for his mastery of the poetical forms, such as the sonnet and the villanelle.
Perhaps Robinson's greatest achievement was winning the first Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1921.
Other Poems: Richard Cory, The House on the Hill, Villanelle of Change, and Supremacy
Picture Credit: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/images/poets/e.a.robinson.135.jpg