Inspirational Quotes by Theodore Roethke (American Poet)

Theodore Roethke (1908–63,) fully Theodore Huebner Roethke, was an American poet. He verse is distinguished by contemplation, profound lyricism, and an abiding interest in the natural world.

Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Roethke was the son of a florist. He often played in his father’s conservatories, an atmosphere later evoked in his poems’ horticultural imagery. He was educated at the University of Michigan (B.A., 1929; M.A., 1935) and Harvard and was an English professor at Washington University from 1948.

Roethke became widely known for the publication of his fourth collection, The Waking (1953; Pulitzer; National Book Award.) His best poems are lyrical and inventive and reveal his grace in handling rhyme and meter. He was an alcoholic who suffered from periodic mental breakdowns. He often reflected on his madness and despair in his poetry.

Roethke influenced Robert Lowell and other ‘Confessional’ poets. Roethke’s Words for the Wind (1958) are a selection from his first four books. His essays and lectures were collected in On the Poet and His Craft (1965,) and his journals’ selections were published as Straw for the Fire (1972.)

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