Trumbull Stickney

Trumbull Stickney, a Swiss-born poet and scholar, is considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. He was born on June 17, 1874, in Geneva, Switzerland, to a wealthy family of American expatriates. Stickney spent his early years in Europe, but later moved to America, where he pursued his education and poetic career.

Stickney attended Harvard University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1895 and a Ph.D. in Classics in 1904. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he became fluent in French and developed a deep appreciation for French literature.

Stickney is best known for his sonnets, which are characterized by their technical precision and emotional depth. In 1902, he published his first collection of poetry, Dramatic Verses. Two collections of his poems were published posthumously, in 1905 and 1973.

Stickney was known for his intelligence, wit, and broad knowledge of literature and the arts. He was a perfectionist, endlessly revising his work until he was satisfied with it. Stickney's motivation came from his desire to capture the essence of human experience in his poetry. He believed that poetry should be both beautiful and true, and that the poet's job was to find the words that would express universal truths.

Stickney faced many difficulties and challenges before achieving fame as a poet. He struggled with his health throughout his life, and in his early years, he suffered from depression and anxiety. Stickney also faced criticism from some quarters, who found his work too intellectual and lacking in emotion.

Stickney's family life was marked by tragedy. His father died when he was young, and his mother died shortly after he graduated from Harvard. Stickney never married, but he had many close relationships with men and women throughout his life. He was known for his generosity and kindness to others.

Stickney's poetry was admired by many of his contemporaries, including Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Robert Frost. He was also friends with the writer and critic Henry James and the poet Amy Lowell. His poem, "Song," became the basis of a major plot point in Robert De Niro's 2006 film, "The Good Shepherd."

Sadly, Stickney died young, at the age of 30, from a brain tumor. He had just been offered a professorship in the Classics department at Harvard when he passed away. Though his life was brief, his poetry lives on, inspiring generations of readers and fellow poets.