January 26, 1963. That’s the day the world lost poetic legend, Robert Frost. Frost died in Boston; but on
that day didn’t end his legacy.
He’s the nature poet of his time. And his words helped us see trees and feel the wind on our faces. He often
time wrote of nature and his experience on farms. He gave nature life. And will always be remembered
by the way his words created life within nature.
Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco. His dad died from tuberculosis when he was eleven
years old and he moved with his mother and siblings. He showed a strong interest in reading and writing
poetry during high school. Frost attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1892. He
later attended Harvard University in Boston, but never obtained a formal college degree.
He married and moved to England in 1912. He met several of his influencers along the way;
contemporary British poets including Robert Graves and Rupert Brooke. During his time in England,
Frost became close with poet Ezra Pound and received help publishing and promoting his work. When
he returned to the US in 1915, he published some of his well-known collections. A Boy’s Will and North
of Boston, to name a few. By the 1920s, Frost was one of the most celebrated poets of his time – and his
time included greats like Langston Hughes. Robert Frost is the recipient of four Pulitzer Prizes and the
Congressional Gold Medal.
On January 20, 1961, Frost delivered a poem at President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address. Kennedy
said “He has bequeathed his nation a body of imperishable verse from which Americans will forever gain
joy and understanding. He saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself. When power leads man
towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s
concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry
cleanses.â€