Edna St. Vincent Millay

Born in Rockland, Maine, on February 22, 1892, Edna St. Vincent Millay rose to national attention while still young, especially after the poem Renascence brought her wide notice. She studied at Vassar College and went on to become one of the best-known poets of her time, admired for her lyrical gift, her command of the sonnet, and her public presence.

Millay wrote poetry, plays, and prose, and she was known for bringing passion, wit, and emotional clarity to subjects like love, desire, mortality, and personal freedom. In 1923 she received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, becoming the first woman to win it for poetry. She also wrote some work under the name Nancy Boyd.

Her life and writing made her a vivid literary figure of the 1920s and after, but her poems have lasted because they offer more than period charm. They combine technical grace with direct feeling, and even her most polished lines often carry a sense of urgency and independence. Millay died in Austerlitz, New York, on October 19, 1950.