Profiles in Poetry: Edwin Arlington Robinson

By Robert Funderburk

Edwin Arlington Robinson was not welcome in the world into which he was born, the village of Head Tide in the town of Alna, Maine. December 22, 1869, was a day of disappointment for his parents, because their third son was supposed to be a daughter and a boy's name hadn’t been considered. For six-months the child remained nameless. The summer after his birth when the family was on vacation in Harpswell, Maine, the ladies told Mary no name was a shame and placed random names in a lottery. Edwin was drawn and because the "drawer" was from Arlington, MA, this became his middle name. When EA grew old enough to understand what had happened, one can only imagine the sense of rejection he felt. Such a traumatic event so early in life must have influenced his whole being, including his poetry.

Robinson’s father, Edward, was a lumber merchant and local politician, and therefore had considerable wealth. When EA was eighteen-months old, the family moved to Gardiner where Edward was offered the di…