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Conrad Aiken




He was deeply influenced by Symbolism , especially in his earlier works. In 1930 he received the Pulitzer Prize For Poetry for his ''Selected Poems''.

He wrote the widely anthologised short story " Silent Snow, Secret Snow " ( 1934 ); his collections of verse include ''Earth Triumphant'' ( 1914 ), ''The Charnel Rose'' ( 1918 ), and ''And In the Hanging Gardens'' ( 1933 ). His poem "Music I Heard" has been set to music by a number of composers, including Leonard Bernstein and Henry Cowell .

Aiken's tomb, located in Bonaventure Cemetery on the banks of the Savannah River , was made famous after its mention in '' Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil '', the bestselling book by John Berendt . According to local legend, Aiken wished to have his tombstone fashioned in the shape of a bench as an invitation to visitors to stop and enjoy a martini at his grave. Its inscriptions read "Give my love to the world," and "Cosmos Mariner—Destination Unknown."

He is the father of English writer Joan Aiken .


QUOTATION

Over the darkened city, the city of towers,
The city of a thousand gates,
Over the gleaming terraced roofs, the huddled towers,
Over a somnolent whisper of loves and hates,
The slow wind flows, drearily streams and falls,
With a mournful sound down rain-dark walls.

::— From ''The House of Dust''


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