Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay seated next to a pond c. 1914. Photo: Library of Congress.
Known as Edna by her friends, the young poet preferred the name Vincent, which she used throughout her life. Although the Millay family did not have much money, they placed great value on culture and literature. Vincent eventually learned to speak six languages and studied piano. She lived in Camden from 1903 to 1913, during which time she began to establish her reputation in the literary world.
While in Camden, Vincent led an active life and participated in several clubs, including the "Huckleberry Finners" reading group, the "S.A.T." (Saturday Afternoon Tea), and Genothad (Sunday School). Her family attended the Congregational Church in Camden.
As a young girl in Camden, Vincent studied piano at the Cushing House on Chestnut Street and was involved in theatre, participating in many amateur plays. At Camden High School, where she graduated in 1909, she was a member of the basketball team, served as the class correspondent, and was the editor of the school publication, "Megunticook." During this time, she also contributed several literary pieces to St. Nicholas Magazine.
When Vincent was 20, she wrote one of her most famous poems, "Renascence," which was published in 1912 in "The Lyric Year." That same year, she recited this memorable piece at the Whitehall Inn in Camden, where it was well received by the public and played a pivotal role in launching her literary career.
Vincent entered Vassar College at the age of 21 and graduated in 1917 with an A.B. degree. In 1923, at the age of 30, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her fourth book, "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver." She is perhaps best known for the famous lines from her poem "First Fig" published in 1922: "My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but ah my foes, and oh my friends, it gives a lovely light."
"Renascence and Other Poems" was Vincent's first published book. Over her career, she wrote 15 books, including fiction under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd. She also wrote dramas that were produced by the Provincetown Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Vincent received many honors and awards throughout her life, including honorary degrees from Tufts College (now Tufts University), the University of Wisconsin, Colby College, New York University, and The Russell Sage Foundation.
In 1923, Vincent married Eugen Boissevain, a Dutch businessman. She spent most of her life in New York City, where she lived a Bohemian lifestyle as a feminist and political activist. Boissevain was devoted to his wife and purchased Ragged Island in Maine for her in 1938. Her life on this small island off the Harpswell Coast inspired her poem titled "Ragged Island." Vincent and Boissevain later settled in Austerlitz, New York, on a 700-acre farm named "Steepletop," which is now a national historic landmark. Vincent died at her home in Austerlitz after a fall down the stairs on October 19, 1950, and she is buried at Steepletop.
