Howard Phelps Putnam (1894 – 1948) was an
American poet who published two books, ''Trinc'' and ''The Five Seasons''.
Biography
Phelps Putnam was born in
in 1894 and attended
Phillips Exeter Academy
(not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God)
, location = 20 Main Street
, city = Exeter, New Hampshire
, zipcode ...
. He enrolled at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
where he was a member of the secret society
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
and was among the "Renaissance" generation of talented Yale-educated writers (which includes alumni such as
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét (; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, ''John Brown's Body'' (1928), for which he receive ...
,
Henry R. Luce,
Archibald MacLeish,
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
, and
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays '' Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...
).
Following graduation Putnam traveled to Europe and worked a series of odd jobs including a brief period as an assistant editor for the Atlantic Monthly Press and writing advertising copy for an insurance company. Putnam's first book of poems, ''Trinc'', Rabelaisian for drink, was published in 1927. Following ''Trinc'' Putnam set to work on an epic, to be titled ''The Earthly Comedy''. In 1930 Putnam was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
and the following year he published ''The Five Seasons'' (1931). This volume marks the beginning of Putnam's work towards producing ''The Earthly Comedy'', however, Putnam died in 1948 before completing his epic, perhaps thwarted by his ill health (asthma and alcoholism) and the paralyzing ambition of his plans. As
F.O. Matthiessen
Francis Otto Matthiessen (February 19, 1902 – April 1, 1950) was an educator, scholar and literary critic influential in the fields of American literature and American studies. His best known work, ''American Renaissance: Art and Expression in ...
acknowledges in his essay “To the Memory of Phelps Putnam” “he sketched a poem too vast ever to be able to shoulder the weight of writing it”. Putnam wrote little in his later years, which largely consists of poetry published in various magazines and lyrics for a musical collaboration with
Harl McDonald entitled ''Songs of Conquest: Cycle for Chorus of Mixed Voices'' (1937).
Putnam's love life appears to have superseded his poetic reputation. Twice married (to Ruth Peters and Una Fayerweather) Putnam had numerous affairs, including trysts with
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
and painter
Russell Cheney. In her autobiography ''Me'' Hepburn writes of Putnam:
"I took one look at him and I was stricken with whatever it is that strickens one at once and for no reason when one looks at a member of the opposite sex. He absolutely fascinated me. I flew up onto a pink cloud
. . .
The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...
”
Relative Rob Putnam is a TV writer in Los Angeles and writes for
Music Connection magazine.
Notes
Bibliography
''Trinc''. New York: New York: Doran, 1927.
''The Five Seasons''. New York: Scribner, 1931.
With Harl McDonald. ''Songs of Conquest: Cycle for Chorus of Mixed Voices''. Philadelphia: Elkan-Vogel, Rev. ed. 1939.
References
Farwell Knapp PapersBeinecke Rare Book and Manuscript LibraryYale University
* Hepburn, Katharine. ''Me: Stories of My Life''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
* Mann, William J. ''Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn''. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006.
* Matthiessen, F.O. “To the Memory of Phelps Putnam”. In ''The Collected Poems of H. Phelps Putnam''. Ed. Charles Walker. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1971.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Phelps
American male poets
1894 births
1948 deaths
Phillips Exeter Academy alumni
Yale University alumni
Poets from Massachusetts
20th-century American poets
20th-century American male writers