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Robert Penn Warren

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Robert Penn Warren

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1905-04-24 （Guthrie, Kentucky, U.S.）
Died
1989-09-15 （Stratton, Vermont, U.S.） age 84
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Guthrie, Kentucky (birthplace) → Prairieville, Louisiana (Twin Oaks / Robert Penn Warren House) → Fairfield, Connecticut → Stratton, Vermont

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Novelist, Literary critic, Professor
Active Years
1921-1989
Affiliations
The Southern Review (founder), Fellowship of Southern Writers (charter member), Louisiana State University (faculty), Yale University (faculty), Vanderbilt University (honorary association)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected), American Philosophical Society (elected), Fellowship of Southern Writers (charter member)
Influenced By
John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Cleanth Brooks
Influenced
New Criticism movement and subsequent generations of poets and literary critics, Writers of American Southern literature

Education

Vanderbilt University
Degree: BA
Period: 1921–1925
Year of Graduation: 1925
Country: United States
summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Founder's Medalist
University of California, Berkeley
Degree: MA
Period: 1925–1927
Year of Graduation: 1927
Country: United States
Graduate studies; served as teaching assistant
Yale University
Period: 1927–1928 (フェローシップ)
Country: United States
Attended on a fellowship (no degree recorded)
New College, Oxford
Degree: B.Litt
Period: 1928–1930
Year of Graduation: 1930
Country: United Kingdom
Rhodes Scholar

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for the Novel
1947
Work: All the King's Men
Organization: Pulitzer Prize (Columbia University)
Result: Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1958
Work: Promises: Poems 1954–1956
Organization: Pulitzer Prize (Columbia University)
Result: Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1979
Work: Now and Then
Organization: Pulitzer Prize (Columbia University)
Result: Winner
Bollingen Prize
1967
Organization: Bollingen Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Robert Frost Medal
1985
Organization: Poetry organizations
Result: Winner
National Book Award for Poetry
1958
Work: Promises: Poems 1954–1956
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Winner
Presidential Medal of Freedom
1980
Organization: U.S. President
Result: Recipient
MacArthur Fellowship
1981
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: Fellow
National Medal of Arts
1987
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: Recipient
Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress / Poet Laureate
1944
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: Appointed (1944–1945)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

All the King's Men

1946 Novel

A novel tracing the rise and fall of politician Willie Stark, exploring power, corruption, and moral responsibility. Contains elements inspired by the real-life figure Huey Long.

PoliticsPowerMorality and guiltSouthern society
Adaptations
  • [Film] All the King's Men (1949 film) / Robert Rossen (1949)
  • [Film] All the King's Men (2006 film) / Steven Zaillian (2006)
  • [Opera] Willie Stark / Carlisle Floyd (作曲者／台本) (1981)

Promises: Poems 1954–1956

1957 Poetry

A collection of poems from 1954–1956. Winner of the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award.

MemoryTimePersonal and historical reflection

Now and Then

1978 Poetry

A collection of poems from 1976–1978, awarded the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

AgingMemorySelf-reflection

Who Speaks for the Negro?

1965 Nonfiction (interview collection)

A record of interviews with civil rights leaders, including Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., documenting perspectives during the civil rights movement.

Civil rightsRaceDialogue and politics

Bibliography

  • Thirty-Six Poems (1935)
  • Night Rider (1939)
  • At Heaven's Gate (1943)
  • All the King's Men (1946)
  • Promises: Poems 1954–1956 (1957)
  • Who Speaks for the Negro? (1965)
  • Now and Then (1978)
  • The Collected Poems (1998, ed. John Burt)

Adaptations

  • All the King's Men — 1949 film, 2006 film, 1958 television play, 1981 opera 'Willie Stark'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
New Criticism perspectiveFormalist tendenciesNarrative and reflective poetic style
Recurring Motifs
American SouthPower and corruptionMemory and timeMoral dilemmas

Health

  • Prostate cancer
    晩年（死因となった合併症）
    Affected his health in later years; he died in 1989 of complications related to prostate cancer

Legacy

Robert Penn Warren was a prolific poet, novelist and critic; he is the only person to have won Pulitzer Prizes in both fiction and poetry. He was involved in founding New Criticism, co-founded The Southern Review, and left extensive papers (e.g., at Yale's Beinecke Library). Vanderbilt University established the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities in his name. The U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in 2005 for his centennial.

Museums

  • Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities (Vanderbilt University) Nashville, Tennessee (Vanderbilt University) Opened in 1988

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Philosophical Society
  • Fellowship of Southern Writers (charter member)

Archives

  • Yale Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Robert Penn Warren papers)
  • Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History (civil rights interviews)
  • Vanderbilt University — materials related to the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities

In Popular Culture

  • 2005 US Postal Service commemorative stamp for his 100th birthday
  • All the King's Men adapted as films, television play, stage productions and an opera

Trivia

  • The only person to have won Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and poetry.
  • Lost his left eye in an accident at age 16.
  • Attended New College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
  • Co-founded The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks.