Biography of edwin arlington robinson

American poet and playwright (1869–1935)

Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright.

Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.^[1]

Early life

Robinson was born in Head Tide, Maine, on December 22, 1869.^[2] His parents were Edward and Mary (née Palmer).

They had wanted a girl, and did not name him until he was six months old, when they visited a holiday resort—at which point other vacationers decided that he should have a name, and selected the name "Edwin" from a hat containing a random set of boy's names.

The man who drew the name was from Arlington, Massachusetts, so "Arlington" was used for his middle name.^[3] Throughout his life, he hated not only his given name but also his family's habit of calling him "Win".

As an adult, he always used the signature "E. A."^[4]