CONRAD AIKEN
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N 32° 04.563 W 081° 05.384
17S E 491531 N 3548868
CONRAD AIKEN
Located on the traffic island in Oglethorpe Ave. across from Colonial Park Cemetery, Savannah, Ga.
Waymark Code: WMWGB
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 10/26/2006
Views: 40
Conrad Aiken, Poet and Man of Letters, was born in Savannah on August 5, 1889 and lived at No. 228 (opposite) until 1901. After the tragic deaths of his parents he was moved to New England. Most of his writing career was divided between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Rye, England. In 1962 he returned to Savannah to live and write in the adjoining house, No. 230 until his death August 17, 1973. Of his home here, he wrote: "Born in that most magical of cities, Savannah, I was allowed to run wild in that earthly paradise until I was nine; ideal for the boy who early decided hw wanted to write."
Though he wrote novels, short stories and critical essays, his first love was poetry. His work earned many awards including the Pulitzer Prize (1930), National Book Award (1954), and the National medal of literature (1969). He was a member of national Academy of Arts and Sciences and held the Chair of poetry of the Library of Congress (1950-1952). Governor Jimmy Carter appointed him Poet Laureate of Georgia on March 30, 1973. Conrad Aiken is buried beside his parents in Bonaventure Cemetery.
GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION
1980
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