Second April

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) who also wrote under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd, was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Her best-known poem might be First Fig from A Few Figs from Thistles (1920). She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, for The Harp- Weaver and Other Poems. She was the first woman to be so honoured for poetry. She was also known for her unconventional, bohemian lifestyle and her many love affairs. In 1943 she was awarded the Frost Medal for her lifetime contribution to American poetry. She was the sixth recipient of that honour, and the second woman. Her reputation was damaged by poetry she wrote in support of the Allied war effort during World War II. Amongst her other works are: Renasance and Other Poems (1917), The Princess Marries the Page (1918/1932), Two Slatterns and a King (1921), The Lamp and the Bell (1921), Second April (1921), Fatal Interview (1931), Conversation at Midnight (1937), Make Bright the Arrows (1940), The Murder of Lidice (1942), Collected Lyrics (1943), and Mine the Harvest (1954).