Conrad Aiken - Definition

Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5 1889–August 17 1973) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, born in Savannah, Georgia, whose work includes poetry, short stories and novels. When he was very young, his father killed his mother, then himself. Needless to say this had a profound impact on Aiken's life. He was thereafter raised by his great-great-aunt in Massachusetts. He was deeply influenced by Symbolism, especially in his earlier works. In 1930 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his Selected Poems.

He wrote the widely anthologised short story "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" (1934); his collections of verse include Earth Triumphant (1914), The Charnel Rose (1918), and And In the Hanging Gardens (1933).

Aiken's tomb

Aiken's tomb, located in Bonaventure Cemetery on the banks of the Savannah River, was made famous after its mention in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the bestselling book by John Berendt. According to local legend, Aiken wished to have his tombstone fashioned in the shape of a bench as an invitation to visitors to stop and enjoy a drink of Madeira at his grave. Its inscriptions read "Give my love to the world," and "Cosmos Mariner—Destination Unknown."

He is the father of writer Joan Aiken.

External link

• eTexts (http://www.gutenberg.org/author/Conrad_Aiken) of Aiken's works, at Project Gutenberg
• The House of Dust (http://encyclopediaoftheself.com/classic_books_online/hdust10.htm) (1920)