Profile of the Day: E.E. Cummings

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

– e e cummings

Today we remember poet E.E. Cummings, who died on September 3, 1962 at the age of 67.

Image: E.E. Cummings / Library of Congress

Cummings was born Edward Estlin Cummings in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Unitarian parents. He went to Harvard University, where his father taught, before leaving to serve overseas in World War I as a volunteer for the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps. During his time abroad, he sent letters home expressing his anti-war views, which drew the attention of the military censors. He was imprisoned for three-and-a-half months by the French military on suspicion of espionage and undesirable activities.

Although known for his unconventional and unstructured style of poetry, many of Cummings works were quite traditional. He was a prolific writer, composing nearly 2,900 poems, two autobiographies, four plays and several essays. Today he is remembered as one of the greatest voices of 20th century poetry.

Explore E.E. Cummings’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the auther.

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