E.E. Cummings
Cummings
Cummings (Edward Estlin Cummings), the renowned American poet, was born on October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is widely recognized for his poetry. His poetic sense is noted "for its eccentricities of typography, language, and punctuation, usually seeks to convey a joyful, living awareness of sex and love" ("Cummings, E.E."). Cummings is also known as a talented artist. Several one-man shows have been held for exhibiting the distinguished paintings and drawings of the great poet cum artist.
His Life in a Nutshell
Early Life
Cummings, at one occasion, said "I did not decide to become a poet -- I was always writing poetry" (as qtd in Reef 5).
It was his mother, Rebecca Cummings, who had encouraged his only son, Estlin, to write start writing poetry from a very early age. He was only three years old when Cummings came out with his first original poem that was:
"Oh my little birdie oh
With his little toe, toe, toe!" (as qtd. In Reef 5)
Cummings was not only...
His father was the teacher of Sociology at the Harvard University, Cambridge who later became a Unitarian minister. In addition to this, he knew plumbing, construction, photography and painting. Due to his father's talents, Estlin also wanted to become a significant personality.
Education
In 1915, Cummings received his degree of Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University. He also got his poems published in the same year in Harvard Monthly and Harvard Advocate (Reef 17). Next year, the proficient poet attained his Master's degree (English and Classical Studies) from the Harvard University (Reef 23).
Career
Along with his Harvard friend, John Dos Passos, Cummings was selected in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in 1917 (Reef 30). However, Cummings was not provided any ambulance unit for 5 weeks due to some administrative blunders. This was the time when the poet fell deeply in love with the beautiful city of Paris. The military forces in France arrested…
