Robinson Jeffers

Robinson Jeffers 1887-1962, American poet and dramatist, b. Pittsburgh, grad. Occidental College, 1905. From 1914 until his death Jeffers lived on the Big Sur section of the rocky California coast, finding his inspiration in its stern beauty. For Jeffers the world, viewed pantheistically, was marred only by humanity, a doomed and inverted species, and its tainted civilization. He frequently used Greek myth to illustrate humankind's tortured mind, its diseased introspection, and its alienation from nature. Jeffers' poetry is virile, intense, and rich in elemental power, with dense clusters of words and sweeping rhythms. Among his volumes of poetry are Tamar and Other Poems (1924), Roan Stallion (1925), The Woman at Point Sur (1927), Cawdor (1928), Dear Judas (1929), Give Your Heart to the Hawks (1933), Such Counsels You Gave to Me (1937), The Double Axe & Other Poems (1948), and Hungerfield and Other Poems (1954). His adaptations of Greek tragedy— Medea (1947), The Tower beyond Tragedy (pub. 1924; produced 1950), and The Cretan Woman (1954)—brought him wide recognition.

Bibliography: See his letters, ed. by A. N. Ridgway (1968); T. Hunt, ed., The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers (2001); biographies by M. B. Bennett (1966) and R. J. Brophy (1975); studies by A. B. Coffin (1971), A. A. Vardamis (1972), R. J. Brophy (rev. ed. 1976), M. Beilke (1977), R. Zaller (1983), and J. Karman (1987, repr. 1995); collections of essays on Jeffers ed. by J. Karman (1990), R. Zaller (1991), and R. Brophy (1995).

Jeffers, (John) Robinson (1887–1962), American poet. The scenery of the redwood and seashore of California inspires much of his works, and one of his dominant themes is what he called ‘Inhumanism’—the insignificance of man, contrasted with the vast, merciless, enduring processes of nature. He made his name with Tamar and Other Poems (1924), of which the title poem is a tragic narrative of family passion and incest in a wild Californian setting. Other volumes include The Women at Point Sur (1927), Cawdor and Other Poems (1928), Thurso's Landing and Other Poems (1932), Selected Poetry (1938), and Hungerfield and Other Poems (1954).