Frost House

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Robert Frost's University of Michigan Connections

by Angelé Anderfuren

There's nothing typical about Robert Lee Frost's tenure at the University of Michigan or the Michigan house that still bears his name. But then, nothing about the four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning poet was ordinary... even if it is Frost's notable mastery of "simplicity" and "accessibility" that has given him such staying power to keep "him relevant even in modern times" (Crable). 

Frost "is said by some to have been the most widely read and continually anthologized American poet of the Twentieth Century" (Maynard). Among his most famous poems are “The Road Not Taken," "Nothing Gold Can Stay," "Fire and Ice," and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” the last of which he wrote "during the summer between his first and second Ann Arbor sojourns" (Tobin). Frost dedicated his first Pulizter-winning book (1923) to Michigan, even though the book's title is New Hampshire (Diamond). His other three Pulitzer-winning collections are: Collected Poems (1930), A Further Range (1936), and A Witness Tree (1942).

While he is still the only person to ever have won four Pulitzers for poetry, Frost never earned a college degree and his first book wasn't published until he was "around the age of 40," according to the Poetry Foundation. Frost was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetry ("Remarks"). 

The celebrated poet was honored several times by President John F. Kennedy. When JFK was inaugurated in 1961, he asked Frost to read a poem, which was the first time a poet was asked to do such ("Robert Frost"). JFK honored Frost twice more, awarding Frost his gold medal in 1962 in the White House ("Remarks") and again in October 1963, speaking at the naming ceremony at the Robert Frost Library in Amherst, Massachusetts ("Robert Frost").

While Frost grew up in New England and is famous for his northeasternly lens on the world, he actually worked on some of what would become cherished poetry here in Michigan, hence the dedication in the 1923 book. He started working on the University of Michigan campus in the academic terms of 1921 through 1926 and served as first "Poet-in-Residence" and first "Creative Fellow" at UM (Diamond; Maynard). He was paid $5000 to come inspire the campus, which he did by being the faculty adviser to a literary magazine called The Whimsies, holding readings, and bringing in noted poets to campus; but he was not required to teach any classes (Diamond; Maynard; Bradford).

The University of Michigan bestowed an honorary degree upon Frost in 1962 ("U-M"). You can listen to an audio recording of Frost reading his work during his last visit to campus before his death (WUOM), which would come less than a year after the degree ceremony ("U-M"). The degree from UM was one of 40 such honorary degrees bestowed on him, according to Biography.com. 

"Robert Frost" sketch by Wilfred Byron Shaw in the UMMA collection. Bequest of Jean Paul Slusser. Courtesy of the UMMA.

"Portrait of Robert Frost" (1958) by Yousuf Karsh. In the UMMA collection. Transfer from the Office of the President, Gift of Gerald and Elise Weisbach. Courtesy of the UMMA.

Frost House, originally at 1223 Pontiac Street in Ann Arbor when Robert Frost lived there while working at the University of Michigan, was preserved and relocated by The Henry Ford museum's Greenfield Village Porches and Parlors District. Image courtesy TheHenryFord.org.

There's a mountain named after him in Ripton, Vermont ("Robert Frost"), an academic building named for him at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, and a library with his name on it at Amhurst College. But there's nothing like that at UM, where he spent many formative writing years. Instead the house where he once lived near campus is now preserved for posterity... just not in Ann Arbor anymore. Now one must drive about an hour up to Dearborn to the The Henry Ford museum's Greenfield Village Porches and Parlors District, where you can visit it anytime you tour the grounds ("Robert Frost Home") or you can even take part in the annual Frost-themed literary event there (Tasker). 

However, there are still things on campus named for Frost, as well as several personal items, including his writing desk! 

A portrait of Robert Frost by Leon A. Makielski (1923) hangs above his desk in the Special Collections Research Center on the sixth floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. Also in Hatcher, you'll find the Robert Frost Family Collection of works, which includes Christmas cards, chapbooks, letters, photos and more. 

There are two other portraits of Frost on campus as well, both in the UMMA archives (See above right for both images). One is a sketch by writer, artist and noted UM alumnus Wilfred Byron Shaw, who wrote about campus and headed the UM Alumni Association. The other is a famous photo of Frost later in life, relaxed in a chair with his dog Wag by his side from 1958. (Frost was a noted dog lover. Read his poem about dogs.) 

Portrait of Robert Frost by Leon A. Makielski (1923) hanging above Frost's desk in UM's Special Collections Research Center on the sixth floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, South Tower. Photos by Angelé Anderfuren.

"Poet's Bench" inscription with Frost poem in The Arb. Photos Courtesy Nichols Arboretum.

And if you'd like to be inspired by nature as Frost was, you can sit and think while admiring the trees and beauty of UM's Nichols Arboretum on the Poet's Bench, which is inscribed with an excerpt from Frost's poem "Birches" ("Poet's Bench").

Apropos for Frost, the name Robert means "bright fame," according to the name etymology website BehindTheName.com. It has Germanic roots and "has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century" ("Robert"). His surname is also of English and Germanic roots, with the website saying it was a "nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard" ("Frost"). House of Names, another website specializing in name history, adds that the last name, in some instances, could also be derived from a Scandinavian mythological "dwarf" called "Frost," which is also the likely root for the children's storybook hero Jack Frost ("Frost History"). The website traced Robert Frost's father Nicholas Frost's New England roots back to Tiverton, Devon, England, where the name historically is spelled Frost or Forst and dates back to the first recording of surnames via land ownership in England in 1085 in the so-called "Domesday Book." 

The great poet's middle name, Lee, fittingly derives from nature. Behind the Name, says it comes from the Old English word leah, meaning "clearing," as in a clearing in the woods, which, for many fans of Frost's, will bring to mind a favorite stanza or line from one of his poems.

...And that has made all the difference.

Special thanks to Linda Skolarus, Research Services Librarian at UM's Special Collections Research Center, and Caitlin Moriarty at the UM's Bentley Historical Library for their help pointing me to the current location of the 1923 Frost portrait by Makielski so I could visit it in person, along with alerting me to the fact that Frost's desk is also on campus and open for public viewing, which was not in any other materials I read or findings visiting campus locations in my research for this project.

Works Cited


Anderfuren, Angelé. Robert Frost's desk photo. 31 Jan. 2024. Author's personal collection.

Anderfuren, Angelé. Photo of Robert Frost's portrait. 31 Jan. 2024. Author's personal collection.

Bradford, Madeleine. "Writing in Secret: The Whimsies was an anonymously published literary magazine that became massively popular on U-M’s campus in the early 1920s. But who was behind it?." Bentley Historical Library. The University of Michigan. https://bentley.umich.edu/news-events/magazine/writing-in-secret/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Crable, Margaret. "Steeped in tragedy, Robert Frost’s poetry maintains a lasting appeal." 9 Nov. 2023. https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/lasting-appeal-of-robert-frost/ Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.  

Diamond, Paul R. "Frost and Burton at Michigan, 1921-26, Then and Now." Michigan Quarterly Review. UM LSA English Department. Apr 2018. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2018/04/frost-and-burton-at-michigan-1921-26-then-and-now-by-paul-r-dimond/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

"Frost." Behind The Name. behindthename.com. https://surnames.behindthename.com/name/frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

"Frost History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms." House of Names. HouseofNames.com. https://www.houseofnames.com/frost-family-crest Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

Frost, Robert. "Fire and Ice." New Hampshire. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1923. Retrieved from Poetry Foundation. PoetryFoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Frost, Robert. "Nothing Gold Can Stay." New Hampshire. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1923. Retrieved from Poetry Foundation. PoetryFoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Henry Holt Co, 1969. Retrieved from Poetry Foundation. PoetryFoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken." The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Henry Holt Co, 1969. Retrieved from Poetry Foundation. PoetryFoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

Karsh, Yousuf. Portrait of Robert Frost, 1958. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

"Lee." Behind The Name. behindthename.com. https://www.behindthename.com/name/lee Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.  

Maynard, Charles. "Spring Pools and Clock Towers: Robert Frost, Michigan’s Poet-in-Residence." Literary Traveler. literarytraveler.com. 23 Jun. 2006. https://www.literarytraveler.com/articles/robert_frost_annarbor/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

Makielski, Leon A. Robert Frost. University of Michigan Hatcher Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

"Poet's Bench." Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum. The University of Michigan. https://mbgna.umich.edu/support/tributes/poets-bench/  Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

"President John F. Kennedy's University of Michigan Speech." YouTube, uploaded by Peace Corps 13 Oct. 2009. Recorded 14 Oct. 1960 at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydTaoZ9JSGk Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

"Robert." Behind The Name. behindthename.com. https://www.behindthename.com/name/robert Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

"Robert Frost: 1874–1963." Poetry Foundation. PoetryFoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

"Robert Frost Biography." Biography.com. 1 Dec. 2021.  https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.  

"Robert Frost Home." The Henry Ford. thehenryford.org.  https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/97286#slide=gs-413760 Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Robert Frost photo from 1921 magazine. The Whimsies. UM Bentley Historical Library archives. https://bentley.umich.edu/news-events/magazine/writing-in-secret/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

"Remarks Upon Presenting a Congressional Award to Robert Frost." The American Presidency Project. presidency.ucsb.edu.  https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-presenting-congressional-award-robert-frost Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Shaw, Wilfred Byron. Robert Frost. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Tasker, Greg. "Poetic Plans for Frost House." Michigan Today. The University of Michigan. 16 Nov. 2019. https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2019/11/16/poetic-plans-for-frost-house/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

Tobin, James. "Robert Frost in Ann Arbor." Michigan Today. The University of Michigan. 9 Jun. 2010. https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2010/06/09/a7771/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

"U-M Buys Portrait Of Late Poet Frost." The Ann Arbor News. 9 Dec. 1963. Archived at Ann Arbor District Library. https://aadl.org/aa_news_19631209-um_buys_portrait Accessed 27 Jan. 2024. 

WUOM. "Sound Recording - Robert Frost; introduced by Donald Hall - 1962 April 02." Broadcast on "Lecture Hour." 2 May 1962. Archived by the UM Bentley Historical Library. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/121234 Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.