author
Mark Van Doren
1894–1972
A Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and beloved Columbia teacher, he brought warmth, clarity, and old-fashioned craft to everything from lyric poems to literary criticism. His work feels thoughtful and humane, shaped by a lifelong faith in reading closely and writing plainly.
1 Audiobook
Mortal Summer
by Mark Van Doren
About the author
Born in Hope, Illinois, in 1894, Mark Van Doren became one of the best-known American men of letters of the 20th century. He studied at the University of Illinois and then at Columbia University, where he later taught English for nearly four decades and earned a reputation as an extraordinary classroom presence.
Van Doren wrote poetry, criticism, novels, stories, and essays, but poetry remained at the center of his career. His Collected Poems, 1922–1938 won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and his verse is often noted for its clarity, musical grace, and commitment to traditional form even during periods of literary change.
He was also remembered as a generous and influential teacher whose students included future writers, thinkers, and public figures. Married to novelist Dorothy Graffe Van Doren and father of Charles Van Doren, he left behind a body of work that joined learning with accessibility, making serious literature feel open to ordinary readers.