Who is Theodore Roethke
Theodore Huebner Roethke (/ˈrɛtki/ RET-kee; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation.Roethke's work is characterized by its introspection, rhythm and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book The Waking, and he won the annual National Book Award for Poetry twice, in 1959 for Words for the Wind and posthumously in 1965 for The Far Field.
In the November 1968 edition of The Atlantic Monthly, former U.S. Poet Laureate and author James Dickey wrote Roethke was "in my opinion the greatest poet this country has yet produced."
Roethke was also a highly regarded poetry teacher. He taught at University of Wa...
Read Full Biography
Theodore Roethke Poems
- I Knew A Woman
I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;
Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one:
The shapes a bright container can contain! ... - The Minimal
I study the lives on a leaf: the little
Sleepers, numb nudgers in cold dimensions,
Beetles in caves, newts, stone-deaf fishes,
Lice tethered to long limp subterranean weeds, ... - Open House
My secrets cry aloud.
I have no need for tongue.
My heart keeps open house,
My doors are widely swung. ... - The Voice
One feather is a bird,
I claim; one tree, a wood;
In her low voice I heard
More than a mortal should; ... - The Reckoning
All profits disappear: the gain
Of ease, the hoarded, secret sum;
And now grim digits of old pain
Return to litter up our home. ...
Top 10 most used topics by Theodore Roethke
Long 12 Wind 11 Time 11 Small 11 Light 11 Slow 11 Tree 10 Water 9 Night 8 Love 8Theodore Roethke Quotes
- A mind too active is no mind at all.
- I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I have to go.
- What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.
Comments about Theodore Roethke
- Dearbhlakelly4: “this shaking keeps me steady. i should know. what falls away is always. and is near. i wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. i learn by going where i have to go” theodore roethke - ‘the waking’
- Op109: "i learned not to fear infinity, the far field, the windy cliffs of forever, the dying of time in the white light of tomorrow, the wheel turning away from itself, the sprawl of the wave, the on-coming water." —theodore roethke, from “the far field”
- Ariisooh: [명언]a mind too active is no mind at all. (theodore roethke)
- Thephoenixflare: “love is not love until love’s vulnerable.” – theodore roethke
- Favepoem: "my papa's waltz" by theodore roethke, read by william van fields. watch the video on our site
