Robert P. T. Coffin
Encyclopedia
Robert Peter Tristram Coffin (March 18, 1892 – January 20, 1955) was a writer, poet and professor at Wells College
(1921–1934) and Bowdoin College
(1934–1955). He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
in 1936.
, Maine
, and member of one of New England's oldest families, Robert P. T. Coffin graduated from Bowdoin in 1915, and went on to earn graduate degrees from Princeton University
(1916) and Oxford University (1920), where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is best known as the author of more than three dozen works of literature, poetry and history, including the book Strange Holiness, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
in 1936.
His early poetry was derivative of classical forms (e.g., sonnets) and in verbiage and subject archaic. His mature poetry is marked by clarity of subject and symbolism, scanning and usually rhyming lines, and New England locales, persons (particularly farmers, fishermen, young boys, and old ladies), themes, and sometimes vocabulary and accent-based rhymes. He also wrote romantic prose.
There is a school in Brunswick, Maine
named after him. Coffin School opened in 1955, in his honor. Coffin dedicated his book "Captain Abby and Captain John" to his fellow Bowdoin College classmate L. Brooks Leavitt
, "a fellow son of Maine." Coffin subsequently wrote his poem "Brooks Leavitt" as a eulogy to his old friend, which was read at Leavitt's funeral in Wilton, Maine. "Captain Abby and Captain John" is one of his most well-known works, and centers around the characters Abby and John Pennell, two ship captains. A shipbuilding district of Brunswick known as Pennellville
provided the inspiration for this book.
Coffin died of a heart attack in Brunswick, Maine on January 20, 1955. He was 63 years old.
, New Haven, 1925)
Laud, Storm Center of Stuart England (1930)
The Dukes of Buckingham, Playboys of the Stuart World (1931)
Portrait of an American (The MacMillan Company, New York, 1931)
Lost Paradise (Autobiography) (The MacMillan Co. New York, 1934)
The Kennebec: Cradle of Americans (Farrar & Rinehart
, 1937) (First volume in the Rivers of America Series
)
Maine Ballads (The MacMillan Co., New York 1938)
Primer for America (1943)
Mainstays of Maine (The MacMillan Co., New York, 1944)
Maine Doings (Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1950)
Red Sky in the Morning (The MacMillan Co., New York, 1935)
John Dawn (1936)
Saltwater Farm. J. J. Lankes
(illustration). (The McMillan Co., New York, 1937.)
Thomas-Thomas-Ancil-Thomas (1941)
Book of Uncles (The MacMillan Co., New York, 1942)
Poems for a Son with Wings (1945)
People Behave Like Ballads (1946)
Yankee Coast (1947)
One Horse Farm (The MacMillan Company, New York, 1949)
On the Green Carpet (1951)
Wells College
Wells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....
(1921–1934) and Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
(1934–1955). He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
in 1936.
Life
A native of BrunswickBrunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, and member of one of New England's oldest families, Robert P. T. Coffin graduated from Bowdoin in 1915, and went on to earn graduate degrees from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(1916) and Oxford University (1920), where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is best known as the author of more than three dozen works of literature, poetry and history, including the book Strange Holiness, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
in 1936.
His early poetry was derivative of classical forms (e.g., sonnets) and in verbiage and subject archaic. His mature poetry is marked by clarity of subject and symbolism, scanning and usually rhyming lines, and New England locales, persons (particularly farmers, fishermen, young boys, and old ladies), themes, and sometimes vocabulary and accent-based rhymes. He also wrote romantic prose.
There is a school in Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
named after him. Coffin School opened in 1955, in his honor. Coffin dedicated his book "Captain Abby and Captain John" to his fellow Bowdoin College classmate L. Brooks Leavitt
L. Brooks Leavitt
L. Brooks Leavitt was an investment banker and antiquarian book collector who served as an overseer of Bowdoin College, to whose library he donated part of his collection of rare books and manuscripts...
, "a fellow son of Maine." Coffin subsequently wrote his poem "Brooks Leavitt" as a eulogy to his old friend, which was read at Leavitt's funeral in Wilton, Maine. "Captain Abby and Captain John" is one of his most well-known works, and centers around the characters Abby and John Pennell, two ship captains. A shipbuilding district of Brunswick known as Pennellville
Pennellville Historic District
Pennellville Historic District is a residential district located in the town of Brunswick, Maine . It is a historic district, and to locals, it is known simply as "Pennellville."...
provided the inspiration for this book.
Coffin died of a heart attack in Brunswick, Maine on January 20, 1955. He was 63 years old.
Non-Fiction
Book of Crowns and Cottages (Yale University PressYale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
, New Haven, 1925)
Laud, Storm Center of Stuart England (1930)
The Dukes of Buckingham, Playboys of the Stuart World (1931)
Portrait of an American (The MacMillan Company, New York, 1931)
Lost Paradise (Autobiography) (The MacMillan Co. New York, 1934)
The Kennebec: Cradle of Americans (Farrar & Rinehart
Farrar & Rinehart
Farrar & Rinehart was a United States book publishing company founded in New York. Farrar & Rinehart enjoyed success with both nonfiction and novels, notably, the landmark Rivers of America Series and the first ten books in the Nero Wolfe corpus of Rex Stout...
, 1937) (First volume in the Rivers of America Series
Rivers of America Series
The Rivers of America Series is a landmark series of books on American rivers, for the most part written by literary figures rather than historians. The series spanned three publishers and thirty-seven years.- History :...
)
Maine Ballads (The MacMillan Co., New York 1938)
Primer for America (1943)
Mainstays of Maine (The MacMillan Co., New York, 1944)
Maine Doings (Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1950)
Fiction
Strange Holiness (1935)Red Sky in the Morning (The MacMillan Co., New York, 1935)
John Dawn (1936)
Saltwater Farm. J. J. Lankes
J. J. Lankes
Julius John Lankes was an illustrator, a woodcut print artist, author, and college professor.-Early life and education:Lankes was born on August 31, 1884 in Buffalo, New York to parents of German heritage. His father worked in a lumber mill and brought home small scraps of wood...
(illustration). (The McMillan Co., New York, 1937.)
Thomas-Thomas-Ancil-Thomas (1941)
Book of Uncles (The MacMillan Co., New York, 1942)
Poems for a Son with Wings (1945)
People Behave Like Ballads (1946)
Yankee Coast (1947)
One Horse Farm (The MacMillan Company, New York, 1949)
On the Green Carpet (1951)
Sources
- NNDB; American Book Exchange; List of books written in Kennebec: Cradle of Americans (1937)