Conrad Aiken

Born: 1889 in Savannah, Georgia

• Conrad Aiken spent most of his life in Savannah

• He moved to Cape Cod before WWII

  • He didn't go to school until he was nine

• Aiken went to Harvard in 1907

• He had a creepy childhood

  • His father killed his mom and then committed suicide

  • Conrad was taken in by his relatives

• Conrad Aiken married three times

  • All his children became successful authors

• Conrad published novels, poems, essays, short stories, and literary criticism

  • Involves a lot of psychology

• His famous poems:

  • "Chance Meetings"

  • "The Dance of Life"

  • "Evensong"

  • All 3 are about passionate love and death

• He is the first Georgia-born writer to win a Pulitzer Prize (1930)

• A few months before his death, Governor Jimmy Carter appointed him, "Poet Laureate" of Georgia

Died: 1973 in Savannah, Georgia