Edna St. Vincent Millay
A poet of fiery independence and lyrical grace who became the voice of rebellious youth and feminist spirit in Jazz Age America.
1892–1950 (age 58)·American poet·Birthday: February 22·The Lost Generation
Biography
Edna St. Vincent Millay burst onto the literary scene as a prodigy, her poem 'Renascence' causing a sensation when she was just twenty. She lived with a bohemian intensity that matched her verse, moving to Greenwich Village after studying at Vassar. There, she became a central figure in the cultural ferment of the 1920s, her red hair and sharp wit as famous as her sonnets. She wrote with a formal mastery about love, death, and freedom, her work pulsating with a modern sensibility that captivated a nation. Millay was the third woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and she packed reading halls across the country, a rock star of the written word. Her life was one of passionate relationships and political engagement, including outspoken anti-fascist work leading up to World War II. Though her later years were marked by personal tragedy and ill health, her early work remains a defining testament to the spirit of a generation that demanded new rules.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Edna was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Edna Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Edna's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 30
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 40
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 50
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1950Died at 58
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923 for 'The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver'.
- Was the first woman to receive the Frost Medal for her lifetime contribution to American poetry.
- Wrote the libretto for the opera 'The King's Henchman', with music by Deems Taylor, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1927.
- Her poem 'Renascence' garnered major critical attention and launched her career while she was still a teenager.
Did You Know?
She went by the name 'Vincent' to her friends and family.
She wrote mystery novels and stories under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd to support herself financially.
She and her husband bought and lived on a farm in upstate New York they named 'Steepletop', which is now a museum.
She was openly bisexual and had numerous documented relationships with both men and women.
““My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light!””
