Big I, Eye, Aye.

What if a much of a which of a wind
r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r 

cummingspowerpoint_edit_31.ppt

ee cummings’ biography – things in italics are subjects for skimmers

hello                  ee cummings was born in October 14, 1894. In the next 67 years, he would write 12 volumes of poetry, write and produce plays, and hold his own art shows.creativity          Creativity blossomed early in cummings’ life. His mother, always reading stories and drawing for her children, paved to the way to ee cumming’s many artistic endeavours. Even as a child, he would love to sketch, and this would continue throughout his life. His first poems and stories were published in his school newspaper.

school               The university to which he applied and was accepted by was Harvard. He enjoyed it there and acquired his Bachelor of Art’s degree in 1915, followed closely by his Master of Art’s degree in 1916. He would return there later to lecture.war               When the first world war struck, he would move before his country. While a member of an ambulance corps in France, he would be arrested alongside his friend on suspicion of being against the French war. He would spend 3 months in a detention camp. This would lead to his book The Enormous Room.

the wheres           ee cummings lived in many locales. Beginning in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he later moved to Paris and studied painting. He would later move to New York, but spend his summers in New Hampshire.

He had many influences. Some of these include: Ezra Pound, his father, Stein, Dada, and surrealism.

He loved cubism and futurism in painting. He studied late impressionist painting in Paris. He was so talented as to have shows from 1940-1950. While he was talented in these areas, he never made as much as he did off poetry.

love             Cumming’s had an interesting love life. Throughout his life he had 3 wives. His first wife, Elaine Orr, was first married to ee cummings’ Harvard friend in 1919. Before she obtained a divorce from him, ee cummings’ daughter was born in 1919. They were married in 1924. This strange relationship ended soon after when Orr ran away to Ireland to another man, taking his only child.
Five years later, he married again. Anne Minnerly Barton and ee cummings were married on May 1, 1929, and left each other in 1932.
His final, and longest lasting marriage was to Marion Morehouse. It is unknown if a formal wedding ever occurred, but they resided together until ee cummings’ death. Morehouse and cummings met the same year that he separated from his second wife.

father and mother               His father’s death was a difficult period of his life. His father was one of his influences, and a very close and an admired member of his family. The nature of his death did not ease this pain. His parents’ car was cut in half by a train, killing his father instantly and seriously injuring his mother. His mother would survive her fractured skull. This terrible accident did not throw cummings into depression. The poem he wrote for his father’s funeral my father moved through dooms of love was an exaltation of his life. This period of time also brought some perspective to his poetry.

goodbye              From around age fifty seven until his death, ee cummings lectured, travelled, and visited one of his favourite places, Joy Farm, his summer home in New Hampshire. He died at the age of sixty seven of a stroke, on September 3, 1962.

Poetry
Tulips and Chimneys (1923)
& (1925)
XLI Poems (1925)
ViVa (1931)
No Thanks (1935)
Tom (1935)
1/20 (1936)
Fifty Poems (1941)
1 x 1 (1944)
Xaipe: Seventy-One Poems (1950)
Ninety-five Poems (1958)
73 Poems (1962)
Complete Poems (1991)

 ee cummings, snubbing normalcy in poetry as he does, is difficult to read at times. Here are some tips.

1. Read aloud
2.  Read many times
3. Omit punctuation
4. Read things in parentheses as one, or seperately
5. If a word doesn’t make sense, rearrange the letters 
6. if it is a jumble of random letters (or appears that way), just read the whole poem quickly – words will form when letters connect. 

Audio:

http://www.imeem.com/groups/YWylBqU7,literature//music/74VOv9Yb/e_e_cummings_a_politician_is_an_arse_upon/
http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/eeclinks.htm
http://www.ubu.com/sound/cummings.html
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=78410541

Longer Timeline:
http://www.geocities.com/soho/8454/bio.htm

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