Edna St. Vincent Milay
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Biography
Born on February 22, 1892 in Rockland, Maine, Edna St. Vincent Millay grew up with the constant label of being “different,” which in her case, was a good thing. To match her strange individuality, her friends and family called her “Vincent.” Her mother, Cora Millay, was a singer and encouraged the arts. She recognized Edna’s exclusivity and took advantage of it. By the age of four she had already started learning the power of poetry. Millay’s parents separated when she was young and her dad left them no financial aid. After raising enough money, in her mid twenties Millay attended Bernard, and then Vassar colleges. In both schools she excelled though her spirit, confidence, and talent. Immediately after graduating, she began writing poems for important magazines such as Vanity Fair, who later hired her full time and got her career in progress. In 1923, Millay became the first female to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for outstanding writing. She was the first woman to ever receive an award for poetry. Even during her time where women had a degraded reputation, not once did she bring to an end to her writing.
Historical Perspective Along with Millay’s creativity and simplicity came a commitment to use her fame and talent for causes beneficial to society. One cause she actively participated in was the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were both anarchists who illegally immigrated to America from Italy. They came to America in hopes of financial benefits. Sacco found a job at a shoe factory in Massachusetts, while Vanzetti was employed as a kitchen helper in New York. Once the two revolutionaries met, they instantly clicked. Sharing the same anarchist principles, one could predict no good would come of this friendship. Political rebels were arrested in May of 1920 for armed robbery at a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts, and murder of the factory’s guard and managers. The case became a
Biography
Born on February 22, 1892 in Rockland, Maine, Edna St. Vincent Millay grew up with the constant label of being “different,” which in her case, was a good thing. To match her strange individuality, her friends and family called her “Vincent.” Her mother, Cora Millay, was a singer and encouraged the arts. She recognized Edna’s exclusivity and took advantage of it. By the age of four she had already started learning the power of poetry. Millay’s parents separated when she was young and her dad left them no financial aid. After raising enough money, in her mid twenties Millay attended Bernard, and then Vassar colleges. In both schools she excelled though her spirit, confidence, and talent. Immediately after graduating, she began writing poems for important magazines such as Vanity Fair, who later hired her full time and got her career in progress. In 1923, Millay became the first female to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for outstanding writing. She was the first woman to ever receive an award for poetry. Even during her time where women had a degraded reputation, not once did she bring to an end to her writing.
Historical Perspective Along with Millay’s creativity and simplicity came a commitment to use her fame and talent for causes beneficial to society. One cause she actively participated in was the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were both anarchists who illegally immigrated to America from Italy. They came to America in hopes of financial benefits. Sacco found a job at a shoe factory in Massachusetts, while Vanzetti was employed as a kitchen helper in New York. Once the two revolutionaries met, they instantly clicked. Sharing the same anarchist principles, one could predict no good would come of this friendship. Political rebels were arrested in May of 1920 for armed robbery at a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts, and murder of the factory’s guard and managers. The case became a
Cited: Brittin, A. Norma. Edna St. Vincent Millay. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1967. Print. Gray, James. Edna St. Vincent Millay. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1967. Print. Millay, Edna St. Vincent. “An Ancient Gesture.” Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes. Ed. Prentice Hall. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc, 2000. 926. Print. “Millay, Edna St, Vincent (1892-1950).” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale, 1988. Academic One file. Web. 12 May 2011 "Sacco and Vanzetti ((?)-)." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale, 1998. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 May 2011 Schoonmaker, Frances. Introduction. Edna St. Vincent Millay. By Edna St. Vincent Millay. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1994. 4-7. Print. Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. "The New Woman." The Reader 's Companion to U.S. Women 's History. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1998. Academic OneFile. Web. 25 May 2011.