Stopping By Woods...And Mailbox!

 

Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets...mine and most of America’s. Despite his New England focused poetry, Robert was born in San Francisco. Like most interesting people, Robert Frost faced hardships in his life. Robert was only 11 when his father passed away. His mother moved the family to Massachusetts after his father died to live with Robert’s grandparents. 

Although he was co-valedictorian of his high school class he ended up dropping out of both Dartmouth and Harvard, claiming that college did not inspire him. He had a varied series of jobs as a young man including shoemaker, teacher and editor, but his real love was writing poetry. 

He married his high school sweetheart and co-valedictorian, Elinor Miriam White in 1895. They had six children, two boys and four girls. Elliot, the eldest, and Elinor, the youngest, both died in childhood, however. The Frost family lived on a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, although according to his neighbors he wasn’t much of a farmer. I think he was more inspired by the land than interested in farming it. The Frosts moved to England for several years during which Robert made connections in the literary world and published his first books. The family returned to America in 1915 and his books and poetry were published in the States. By the 1920s, Robert Frost had become one of America’s most beloved poets. He later taught college classes and even read one of his poems at JFK’s presidential inauguration. 

During his lifetime, he received four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry. In 1960, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for poetry. And of course, he has been honored on a US postage stamp! 🥳

 So why is Mr. Frost’s poetry so appealing? Frost’s poetry describes lovely scenes from nature, such as an apple orchard, a farmer’s stone wall, or a man traveling through the woods on a snowy evening. Underneath those pleasing scenes, though, Frost’s poetry has a deeper, more complex meaning. I remember reading some of Frost’s poetry as a kid and thinking one thing about it, but as I’ve gotten older and I read it again I come away with a different feeling. I think that is what good poetry is supposed to do. 🤔 There is always something new to learn when I read his poems. 🥰 

I thought I would send a wonderful Robert Frost book to some little penpals. Nothing like introducing the next generation to one of America’s greatest poets. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening was published as a children’s picture book with illustrations by Susan Jeffers in 1978. The illustrations are charming! I hope my penpals like Mr. Frost’s poems as much as I do! 

Illustration by Susan Jeffers

This winter I hope you get a chance to appreciate the simple things in life, the woods on a snowy evening, a beautiful poem and a letter in your mailbox. 🥰📬

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy