[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THEODORE ROETHKE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2000

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, today I honor the memory of a great poet, 
Michigan's only Pulitzer Prize winner, and a truly great American. 
Though he passed away more than 35 years ago, the spirit of Theodore 
Roethke lives on through his poetry and leaves an impressive legacy as 
a prominent figure in the rich history of American literature.
  To keep his memory alive, the ``Friends of Theodore Roethke'' was 
created in Saginaw to promote, preserve, and protect his legacy. By 
restoring his family residence and organizing a wide range of cultural 
and educational events, the organization does a tremendous job of 
honoring Theodore Roethke's memory and continuing his legacy of 
teaching and sharing in literary pleasures.
  Theodore Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1908 to German 
immigrants Otto Roethke and Helen Huebner. Otto Roethke took over the 
family florist business when his father passed away, and Theodore spent 
much of his time as a small boy following his father around the 
greenhouse and the fields, helping out as much as he could. This early 
exposure to nature would have a profound influence on his poetry later 
in life.
  Roethke attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he 
did quite well and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society 
during his senior year in 1929. It was at Michigan that he began 
writing poetry. He went on to briefly attend law school, but left after 
only one class to pursue a master's degree in literature, studying such 
poets as Elinor Wylie and E.E. Cummings. When the Great Depression hit, 
Roethke was forced to leave school and find a job, which he did, 
teaching at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
  As the years went on, Roethke held several other teaching positions--
among them jobs at Michigan State, Penn State, and the University of 
Washington--all the while having more and more of his poetry published. 
In 1945, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship and took the time to 
return to Saginaw to write. In 1953, Roethke married Beatrice 
O'Connell, and in that same year, The Waking was published, and 
included what many consider to be his greatest works. He continued to 
write and be commended for his poetry up until his death, and he 
receives critical praise to this day for his works. He was buried in 
Oakwood Cemetery in Saginaw in 1963 at the age of 55.
  During his life, Theodore Roethke was awarded two Guggenheim 
Fellowships, the Eunice Tietjens Memorial Prize, two Ford Foundation 
grants, a Pulitzer Prize for The Waking, a Fulbright grant, the 
Bollingen Prize, a National Book Award for Words for the Wind, a 
Shelley Memorial Award, and he received a National Book Award for The 
Far Field posthumously in 1965.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I recognize such a 
distinguished and world renowned poet, who so gracefully put into words 
the beauty, mystery, and power of the natural world. I urge you and all 
of my colleagues to join me in honoring Theodore Roethke for his 
tremendous contributions to American literature, and the lasting impact 
he has had on American culture.

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