born July 29, 1905, Worcester, Mass., U.S.
U.S. poet.
He worked as an editor while contributing verse to magazines; much of it was collected in volumes such as Selected Poems 19281958 (1958, Pulitzer Prize). With The Testing-Tree (1971), he began to write shorter, looser, more emotional poetry. Among his later collections, noted for their subtle craftsmanship and treatment of complex themes, are The Coat Without a Seam (1974), The Lincoln Relics (1978), Next-to-Last Things (1985), and Passing Through (1995). In 2000 he was named U.S. poet laureate.