Theodore Roethke was born on May 25, 1908 in Saginaw, Michigan. His parents were both immigrants from Germany, but they did not know each other before the came to America. They met in Saginaw, Michigan (Theodore, 1). Roethke's father came to America as a child with his father. In order to make money the Roethkes bought twenty-two acres of land to build a market garden on. When Roethke's grandfather made enough money he built a greenhouse so the family could enter the florist business. After his grandfather died Roethke's father and uncle took over the business. When he was two years old his father built a house next to the green house so he would be close to take care of the flowers (Tapia,1). Throughout his childhood he found it difficult to relate to others (Bowler, 912). Roethke would follow his father around the greenhouse as he took

care of it, and was given small chores of his own. Past the greenhouse w

Roethke moved to Bennington, Vermont where he began teaching at Bennington College. He was challenged by a distinguished faculty and select student body, perfected and refined his teaching skills. In 1945 another manic depression forced Roethke into confined treatment. Luckily, that same year Roethke was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship making able to recuperate from his depression. He left Bennington to recuperate in Saginaw, so fearing that he would not be rehired at Bennington, he returned to Penn State to teach the spring semester in 1947. He finished writing the manuscript for The Lost Son while in Penn State, but the publication was delayed until March of 1948 (Tapia, 2).

Roethke's mother died in 1953. A few weeks later he received good news, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his book of poems The Waking. In 1959 Roethke had another mental breakdown and had to be admitted into the Halcyon Sanitarium in Seattle (Theodore, 3).

after he published his first book, Open House, he became dissatisfied with the job (Tapia, 2).

Theodore Roethke's work reflected his interesting life making it worth anyone's study. Roethke lived through a very

Some common words found in the essay are:
Michigan Theodore, Red Cross, Son Penn, Seattle Theodore, Tapia1 Throughout, Guggenheim Fellowship, Michigan College, Bennington College, America Europe, Theodore Roethke, tapia 3, tapia 3 roethke's, roethke's father, greenhouse field, published book, manic depression, tapia 2, theodore 1, father's death, 3 roethke, saginaw michigan,
Approximate Word count = 780
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)