Such a view and the concommitant lack of interest in his work is unfortunate, for Robinson was a true innovator within the constraints of the traditional forms; his attitude, tone, and eclectic subject matter genuinely anticipate the main thrust of twentieth-century American poetry. As Robert Frost, in his introduction to
King Jasper, put it, Robinson was "content with the old-fashioned way to be new."
In an age when other prominent poets were engaged in many other pursuits, Robinson stood alone in his unmitigated devotion to writing poetry. T.S. Eliot with his career in publishing, William Carlos Williams with his medical practice, Wallace Stevens with his executive position in an insurance company, and Frost, seemingly the most "professional" poet, with his teaching jobs and his speaking tours--all had other interests and accomplishments. Robinson, on the other hand, did virtually nothing in his life save write poetry: he neither married nor traveled; he neither taught nor gave public readings; he neither had professional preparation nor any extended occupation other than the writing of poetry. On the occasion of his fiftieth birthday he was treated to an encomium in the New York Times Book Review (21 December 1919), which published comments by sixteen writers, including this statement from Amy Lowell: "Edwin Arlington Robinson is poetry.
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