My Papa’s Waltz
Theodore Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz” from Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Copyright 1942 by Hearst Magazines, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.
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Poet Theodore Roethke 1908–1963
POET’S REGION U.S., Northwestern
Subjects Family & Ancestors, Theater & Dance, Youth, Living, Relationships, Arts & Sciences
Poetic Terms Rhymed Stanza, Confessional
Biography
Theodore Roethke was hardly one who would have been expected to become a major American poet. Though as a child he read a great deal and as a high school freshman he had a Red Cross campaign speech translated into twenty-six languages, he strove to be accepted by peers who felt "brains were sissys." The insecurity that led him to drink to be "in with the guys" continued at the University of Michigan, where he adopted a tough, . . .
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Family & Ancestors, Theater & Dance, Youth, Living, Relationships, Arts & Sciences
POET’S REGION U.S., Northwestern
Poetic Terms Rhymed Stanza, Confessional
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