Robert Francis (poet)
Encyclopedia
Robert Francis was an American poet
who lived most of his life in Amherst, Massachusetts
.
. He graduated from Harvard University in 1923. He would later attend the Graduate School of Education at Harvard where he once said that he felt that he'd come home. He lived in a small house he built himself in 1940, which he called Fort Juniper. One of his poetic mentors was Robert Frost
, and indeed Francis's first volume of poems, Stand Here With Me (1936), displays a poetic voice eerily reminiscent of Frost's own in carefully crafted nature poems. Frost once said: "poetry is the only acceptable way to say one thing and mean another."
Francis uses hidden meanings in his poems, which suggest another way that Frost made an impression on Francis's poetry. In later volumes, Francis found a voice distinctively his own, relaxed in meter
and characterized by pun
s, word-plays, slant rhymes, and repetitions of key words. Aside from one long narrative poem in Frostian blank verse
, Francis's poetry consists largely of concise lyrics, somewhat limited in thematic range but intensely crafted and deeply personal. Frost would later say that Robert Francis was America's best neglected poet. He often wrote about nature and baseball. His autobiography, The Trouble with Francis, was published in 1971 and details his struggle with neglect. Francis died July 13, 1987.
in 1939. In 1984 the Academy of American Poets
gave Francis its award for distinguished poetic achievement.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
who lived most of his life in Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
.
Life
Robert Francis was born on August 12, 1901 in Upland, PennsylvaniaUpland, Pennsylvania
Upland is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Upland is governed by an elected seven member borough council. The population was 2,977 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Upland is located at ....
. He graduated from Harvard University in 1923. He would later attend the Graduate School of Education at Harvard where he once said that he felt that he'd come home. He lived in a small house he built himself in 1940, which he called Fort Juniper. One of his poetic mentors was Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, and indeed Francis's first volume of poems, Stand Here With Me (1936), displays a poetic voice eerily reminiscent of Frost's own in carefully crafted nature poems. Frost once said: "poetry is the only acceptable way to say one thing and mean another."
Later work
Francis published very little during the 1940s-1950s. He decided that "for better or worse, I was a poet and there was really nothing else for me to do but go on being a poet. It was too late to change even if I had wanted to. Poetry was my most central, intense and inwardly rewarding experience." In 1960, Francis published The Orb Weaver, which revived his reputation as a poet.Francis uses hidden meanings in his poems, which suggest another way that Frost made an impression on Francis's poetry. In later volumes, Francis found a voice distinctively his own, relaxed in meter
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
and characterized by pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s, word-plays, slant rhymes, and repetitions of key words. Aside from one long narrative poem in Frostian blank verse
Blank verse
Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...
, Francis's poetry consists largely of concise lyrics, somewhat limited in thematic range but intensely crafted and deeply personal. Frost would later say that Robert Francis was America's best neglected poet. He often wrote about nature and baseball. His autobiography, The Trouble with Francis, was published in 1971 and details his struggle with neglect. Francis died July 13, 1987.
Awards
Francis won the Shelley Memorial AwardShelley Memorial Award
The Shelley Memorial Award of more than $3,500, given out by the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of the late Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need. The selection is...
in 1939. In 1984 the Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of poetry. The Academy was incorporated as a "membership corporation" in New York State in 1934...
gave Francis its award for distinguished poetic achievement.
External links
- "A Poet's Voice Rises from the Archives", All Things Considered, April 1, 2007, NPR
- Robert Francis Papers at Syracuse University
- Robert Francis Papers at University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Robert Francis Collection in Special Collections, Jones Library, Amherst, MA