Edna St. Vincent Millay Biography and Background

What genres of writing did Edna St. Vincent Millay write?

Poetry, opera librettos, translated volumes, short stories (under name Nancy Boyd) and poetic dramas. Additionally she wrote and acted in plays 

How can her literary readings be described?

glamorous affairs that attracted large crowds to hear her read her poems.

Millay had origins similar to that of?

Katherine Anne Porter, both of them came from humble origins

What are her sisters and mothers name?

Kathleen and Norma are her sisters and Cara is her motherWhat

What is Millay’s mother, Cara’s marital status?

single

What lessons did Cara try to impress upon her daughters?

the importance of refinement, self-determination and intelligence

What attitude did Millay express towards her mother?

a deep appreciation for her mother’s determination and generosity

Because Cara’s connections were limited Millay would need what in order to achieve fame, success, and a formal education?

A stroke of good luck

What annual competition did her mother encourage Millay to submit her poetry to? In what year?

“The Lyric Year” in 1912

At what frequency was Millay publishing her works prior to “The Lyric Year” competition? Where was she publishing her works?

sporadically in small journals

What work would become known as her breakthrough work? What was remarkable about it?

“Renascence,” which was remarkably mature for such a young writer.

Renascence contains which of Millay’s career defining features?

A careful attention to form and a willingness to mix grand and common language

What was the public reaction to her poem?

It was accepted and widely praised

She was offered scholarships to attend which schools? What classes did she take?

Barnard and Vassar where she took extensive courses in languages

what languages did Millay take classes in?

greek, latin and comparative literature 

Where did she move after graduating from Vassar?

Greenwich village in NYC where she began to work in earnest as an artist

What was her first poetry collection?

Renascence and other poems (1917)

For how many years following her first poetry collection “Renascence and other poems” did Edna Millay steadily publish works?

20 years

What pseudonym did Millay write her short stories under?

Nancy Boyd

Millay’s writings became associated with what?

the passions and freedoms of the roaring 20s, especially as expressed by the “new Woman”

What did Millay express as a writer?

the postwar feelings of young people, their rebellion against tradition and their mood of freedom symbolized for many women by bobbed hair

Her work also reflected her awareness of what?

imbalanced nature of gender roles 

For which of her popular collections does Millay become known as a “spokesperson for the rights of women and pleasurable and courageous living?”

“A Few Figs from Thistles” and “The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems”When wa

When was “A Few Figs from Thistles” published?

1920

When was “The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems” published?

1923

When did her fame and success peak?

the 1920s

Edna Millay became the first _____…?

woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1923

When did Millay die?

1950

After her heyday as a spokesperson for freedoms of 1920 she became invested in what causes?

political and social causes, protesting against executions and writing antifascist poetry

What executions did Millay protest?

Saccco and Vanzetti executions in 1927

When did she write her antifascist poetry?

late 1930s and early 1940s

What subject matter did she continously address throughout her career?

the complexities women faces in navigating a world that both praised and condemned women's expression

Which classical form did she have a specific “precise command” over?

the sonnet

How did Millay use traditional forms?

to explore modern contradictions and dilemmas 

Millay’s poetry is tied to  a specific period of time but also…?

timeless in its formal sophistication and “unprecedented extensive psychological portraits of the woman lover”