Adopted Poet: Robinson Jeffers

Biography:
Born January 10, 1887
Allegheny, Pennsylvania which in now part of Pittsburg
Father, Dr. William Hamilton Jeffers who was a Presbyterian minister
Died January 20, 1962
Classic narrative and epic form
Icon of the environmental movement
Brother is a well known astronomer
Family was supportive of his interest in poetry
Travelled through Europe as a child
Went to school in Switzerland
Was a child prodigy
Was interested in Classics, Greek, and Latin language and literature
During his last years spent in Europe he began to read and write poetry

Went to the Western University of Pennsylvania
Entered Occidental college at age 16
After graduating he went to the University of Southern California first as a literature student then later in medical
All the school switches were due to the family moving

After graduating was released from the structure of his religious family so began to drink.

Met Una Call Kuster in 1906 who was 3 years senior and married
They had a scandalous affair and then were married in 1913
Had a daughter (who died) and twin sons
Una died due to cancer in 1950

When he and his wife moved to Carmel, CA he built "Tor House and Hawk Tower"
Hired a local build and did an informal apprenticeship learn about the
Added to the Tor House throughout his life.

After the time of T.S. Elliot and Ezra Pound, Jeffers dismissed that their work was trivial mannerism.
He later claimed that history and society drove him to despair.
He published his first book, Flagons and Apples, in 1912 at his own expense
This book showed no evidence of the powerful poet he later became
It contained love lyrics
Californians was the continuation of it

His poems are mostly about the cycles in nature, the violence in those cycles, nature, the forces that animate nature, and the role of humanity.
Published his first poetry book in 1924 Tamar and Other Poems
This and the Roan Stallion sealed his fame

After wife's death entered depression
His final narrative was Hungerfield which was an offering to his wife
After that he started but couldn't finish many other narratives
Was popular with critics and the public in the 1920s and 1930s
One of the most fascinating and controversial poets
Wrote about the difficulty and beauty of the wild(nature)

A/N: I wrote a parallel poem to the poem by Robinson Jeffers, "Rock and Hawk" my poem is call Crayons and Paper. First posted is the original poem and then my poem.

Here is a symbol in which
Many high tragic thoughts
Watch their own eyes.

This gray rock, standing tall
On the headland, where the seawind
Lets no tree grow,

Earthquake-proved, and signatured
By ages of storms: on its peak
A falcon has perched.

I think, here is your emblem
To hang in the future sky;
Not the cross, not the hive,

But this; bright power, dark peace;
Fierce consciousness joined with final
Disinterestedness;

Life with calm death; the falcon's
Realist eyes and act
Married to the massive

Mysticism of stone,
Which failure cannot cast down
Nor success make proud

Now here is my poem.

10:36 AM

Here is a color in which
Many young children love
And draw with.

This pink crayon, set out
On the paper, where the rainbow
Lets its light through,

Child-proof, and full of pages
By ages of moms: with children
A new thing has formed.

I think, here is your crayon
To draw in coloring books;
Not the black, not the white,

But this; bright green, dark blue;
Fierce radiance of color
Shines through the blank pages;

Red with pure black; the pirate's 
Fulfilling the picture
Leaving the blue gone

Mysticism of gray,
Which cannot be mistaken
Nor forgotten with pride