Fun Facts Friday: Conrad Aiken

Conrad Aiken (5 August, 1889 – 17 August, 1973) was an American writer and poet. Mr. Aiken was a Pulitzer Prize winner and a U.S. Poet Laureate.

Books by Conrad Aiken*

Fun Facts about Conrad Aiken:

1. Conrad Potter Aiken was born in Savannah, GA. His father, William Ford, was a respected doctor, while his mother, Anna, came from a prominent Massachusetts family.
2. Tragedy occurred on 27 February, 1901 when Dr. Aiken murdered his wife and committed suicide. Eleven-year-old Aiken heard two gunshots and discovered the bodies when investigating.
3. You Aiken’s great uncle and aunt, in Cambridge, MA raised him and his three siblings thereafter, where he attended and graduated from Harvard.
4. When attending Harvard, Mr. Aiken edited the Harvard Advocate, a literary magazine, with T. S. Eliot. The two colleagues became lifelong friends.
5. In 1930, Conrad Aiken won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book Selected Poems.
6. Aiken was influenced by symbolism, as well as his childhood tragedy. Other influences included his grandfather, a church preacher, as well as Walt Whitman.
7. The poet was a tutor for a year at Harvard (1927-28).
8. From 1950 Conrad Aiken served as Poet Laureate of the United States for two years.
9. Aiken always considered himself a New Englander, despite being recognized as a Southern writer.
10. The Library of America selected the story Arcularis (1931) for inclusion in a 2009 retrospective of American fantastic tales..

Books by Conrad Aiken*

Zohar — Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books