10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS LOCAL HISTORY SEPTEMBER 8, 2023 When Robert Frost came to Michigan: a view of power and poetry in a democracy According to Poets.org, Robert Frost's life can be summarized as follows. Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, where his father and mother had moved from Pennsylvania shortly after marrying. After the death of his father when Frost was eleven, he moved with his mother and sister to Lawrence, Mass. He became interested in reading and writing poetry during his high school years in Lawrence, enrolled at Dartmouth College in 1892 and, later, at Harvard University, though he never earned a formal degree. Frost drifted through a string of occupations after leaving school, working as a teacher, a cobbler and editor of the Lawrence Sentinel. His first published poem, "My Butterfly," appeared on November 8, 1894 in the New York newspaper, "The Independent.” Frost married his high school sweetheart, Elinor Miriam White, in 1895. It was said Elinor, who died in 1938, was a major inspiration for his poetry. Four years after her death, Frost proclaimed that he had “A lover’s quarrel with the world.” Frost said he went to England to write a novel and, perhaps, dramatic plays. There he was influenced by renowned European poets such as Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, John Keats, William Butler Yeats and Thomas Hardy, and Georgian Poets T.E. Hulme and Lasceless Abercrombie. In 1917, Frost signed a three-year teaching contract with Amherst College. He continued to be a prolific writer of poems. Many historians, including Poets.org, noted that by 1920, Frost was the most celebrated poet in America. He got more famous with every new publication of his books. Frost won a total of four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry, the only poet to do so. He served as a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress 1957-1959. In 1960, Frost won the Congressional Gold Medal, signed by President Eisenhower, and presented by John F. Kennedy in 1962. Frost read his poem “The Gift Outright” at JFK's inauguration ceremony on January 20, 1961. After receiving an honorary Master’s Degree in Arts and Letters from the University of Michigan in 1921, Frost came back to receive an honorary doctorate in Law from U-M in 1962. Although Frost got honorary degrees from Dartmouth, Harvard and other prestigious schools, he told friends that he valued and cherished the honorary degrees from Michigan, the campus he loved very much. WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 Frost died in Boston in January 1963, a few months after his Spring 1962 commencement speech and poetry reading to an overflowing, joyous crowd at the Michigan Football Stadium. Frost Gets a Teaching Fellowship at U-M Robert Frost arrived at U-M in 1921, stayed until 1923, and then returned for a second fellowship 1925 to 1926. He was invited by U-M’s popular President, Rev./Dr. Marion Leroy Burton. Frost and Burton shared a vision about how poetry and the arts could transform the lives, thinking and reflections of young people across the nation. President Burton secured a $5,000 donation in 1921 to bring Frost to U-M. In his application for the grant, Burton said, “A real University should be a patron of arts, literature and creative activity. We ought to have on campus [creative artists] who are actually producing the results which influence the thought of a nation.” The above quote, by writer and scholar Paul Diamond, was in the article, “Frost and Burton at Michigan: 1921-1926,” published in ”The Michigan Quarterly Review” of July 14, 2023. In his acceptance letter, Frost thanked President Burton for his vision of “keeping the creative and the erudite together in education where they belong; and [where the creative can also] make its demand on young students.” Diamond noted that Frost made a big impact at Michigan. “He had led the monthly meetings at Professor Cowden’s home on Olivia Avenue for student writers of the literary magazine, Whimsies. Frost shared his poems, and the students shared theirs … and then Frost would encourage them to keep their poems around for a while and ‘deepen, deepen it.’” There was no doubt that having America’s most famous poet helping Michigan students to excel was very positive, but some professors in the Robert Frost reciting a poem at John F. Kennedy's inauguaration. Diamond, was a humorous challenge: English Department displayed hostile attitudes toward Frost due to his lacking formal academic degrees. Some of them described Frost as a college dropout who made as much money as full professors. Sadly, the student writers who appreciated Frost knew about the envy and resentment. They devoted the last issue of their 1923 publication to Frost as a token of gratitude. President Burton also felt triumphant and grateful. He wanted to make Frost’s residency permanent with $6,000 annually from the University fund. Frost agreed in principle but then Burton died suddenly of a heart attack. After Frost gave an emotional eulogy for his number one advocate, Frost decided to do just a final residency from 1925 to 1926. He continued his impressive work with student writers, who changed their magazine’s name to Outlanders. He lived with his family in a house on Pontiac Trail. The house has since been moved by the Ford Museum to Greenfield Village. Frost wrote dozens of poems at Michigan. His residency produced some of the most memorable of his poems, cited by laypeople and the powerful. They include, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Spring Pools” and “Fire and Ice.” His poetry collection titled “New Hampshire” was published in 1924. It was dedicated to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and it won the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for excellence in - poetry. During one of his frequent dinners at President Burton’s house, Burton claimed that Frost might even be more popular than the football coach, Fielding Yost, because of his civic engagement and national celebrity status. Frost's response, according to “Let’s put that to the test: schedule a reading for me at the same time as a home football game. More than 30,000 will be cheering at the Perry Field. The Hill Auditorium will be empty, since even I will be at the game.” The Intersection of Power and Poetry in a Democracy Robert Frost described himself as a “humanist.” Some critics called him a poet inspired by rural rusticity, landscapes, forests and pastoral disposition. He also wrote about the social and political challenges of his time, including wars, women’s rights and the crushing poverty of the Great Depression. Frost wanted his students and readers to do deep thinking. He was inclined to write in parables. Many people in positions of power loved his poetry collections. President John F. Kennedy invited him to read his poem in January 1961 at the Presidential Inauguration. He recited the poem “The Gift Outright,” very dear to folks from New England. After the poet passed away, Amherst College invited President Kennedy to give a speech at a ceremony to dedicate the Robert Frost Memorial Library. His speech was about the link between poetry and power. As quoted in HuffPost Entertainment of July 14, 2023, Kennedy said, “When power leads man to arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of men’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of this existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human see FROST next page
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