Anne Sexton Research Paper

831 Words4 Pages
Anne Sexton Anne Sexton, born Anne Gray Harvey, was an American poet. She was born November 9th, 1928, in Newton, Massachusetts, and died October 4th, Weston, Massachusetts, at the age of 45. She was known for being a confessional poet, in which she wrote primarily about her struggles with depression, suicidal tendencies and mania. She had won a Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry, called Live Or Die, in 1967. Sexton started writing poetry while attending Rogers Hall, a preparatory school for girls, and had written several poetry collections for the remainder of her life. Major Achievements In 1958, Sexton's poetic works started receiving recognition. She was awarded the Audience Poetry Prize in 1959. In 1960, she published her first book of poems called, “To Bedlam and Part Way Back” and this…show more content…
They had two daughters, Linda Gray in 1953 and Joyce Ladd in 1955. After publishing her first book, she had plummeted into emotional turmoil when her parents suddenly died, and her emotional state further degraded as her marriage disintegrated because of physical abuse by her husband. In 1973, she filed for divorce from her husband, which was followed by alcoholism and drug abuse that was brought on by depression and loneliness. The state of her health became extremely poor and would worsen significantly in her last years as her personal life also deteriorated. Her friends alienated her and her daughters avoided her because they could not deal with her, and she couldn't deal with them. After a collection of religious poems were not well received and her collaboration with a rock group, her professional life was also going through some difficult times, her mental state was very fragile. On October 4, 1974, after having lunch with longtime friend, Maxine Kumin, Sexton committed suicide by way of carbon monoxide poisoning. Sexton was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery & Crematory in Jamaica Plain, Boston,
Show More
Related

  • Anne Sexton Research Paper

    1642 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ever come in contact with an overly personal, in your face, incompetent person who really nags at your last nerve? To many people in 1950, this person was poet Anne Sexton. Her poems outraged conservative society, not only because she was a woman engulfing fame into her life, but because she wrote about topics which made people morbidly uncomfortable, such as masturbation, abortion, incest, and menopause. Her widely read poetry sensationalized intimate experiences, making her poetry an “intense manifesto”

    Read More

More about Anne Sexton Research Paper

Open Document