Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was born in Saginaw, Michigan. One of the most influential poets of his generation, he won the Pulitzer Prize for The Waking in 1954 and two National Book Awards, in 1959 for Words for the Wind and posthumously in 1965 for The Far Field. Edward Hirsch is the author of several books of poetry and criticism, including Lay Back the Darkness and How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry. His many awards include a National Book Critics Circle award and a MacArthur fellowship. He is president of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
