Robert P. Tristram Coffin
Robert P. Tristram Coffin was an influential American poet, novelist, and educator born on March 18, 1892, in Brunswick, Maine. Raised on a saltwater farm in Harpswell, he drew much of his poetic inspiration from the landscapes and culture of coastal Maine. Coffin attended Bowdoin College, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1915 before earning a graduate scholarship to Princeton University. He served as an artillery officer during World War I and returned to academia, ultimately earning a Rhodes Scholarship at Trinity College, Oxford. Throughout his career, Coffin authored over forty books, including poetry, novels, and essays, and is perhaps best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, *Strange Holiness* (1935).
Coffin's work is characterized by its deep connection to Maine's environment and culture, and his contributions to American literature were recognized with memberships in prestigious institutions such as the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He served as a faculty member at Wells College before returning to Bowdoin College as a professor of English. Coffin passed away suddenly on January 20, 1955, at the height of his academic career, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire readers and writers today. His collection at the University of New Hampshire preserves his literary contributions and personal correspondence, reflecting his impact on American literature.
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Robert P. Tristram Coffin
Poet
- Born: March 18, 1892
- Birthplace: Brunswick, Maine
- Died: January 20, 1955
- Place of death: Portland, Maine
Biography
Robert Peter Tristram Coffin was born on March 18, 1892, across College Street from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He grew up in Harpswell, on Great Island, on his father’s saltwater farm. His mother, Alice Mary Combs Coffin, was the second wife of James William Coffin, a Civil War veteran. When James Coffin died in 1908, he left a skill and a house for each of the ten children from his second marriage.
Robert Coffin was sent to school at a rural schoolhouse in Brunswick, Maine, in the seventh grade. He entered Bowdoin College in 1911 and graduated at the top of his class in 1915. He went on to Princeton University on a graduate scholarship in 1916. Two of his poems appeared in a section of Princeton verse published by Princeton University Press in 1916. Thirteen of his poems appeared in another Princeton University Press publication in 1919. Much of his poetry portrays his early life on island farms and along the seacoast in Maine, where he spent his early years. From Princeton, where he earned a M.A. in English, he went on to be a Rhodes Scholar at Trinity College in Oxford, England.
His years at Trinity College were interrupted by his service as an American artillery officer in World War I. He married Ruth Neal Phillip in Maine on January 22, 1918. The couple had four children. He returned to Oxford and was awarded a B.A. degree in 1920. From 1921 to 1934 he was a member of the faculty of Wells College in upstate New York; there he ran the English honors course, and, in 1928, was named to an endowed chair. After further research at Oxford, he became chair of Wells’s English department.
By the time Bowdoin College gave him an honorary doctorate at his fifteenth reunion in 1930, he had published seven books. In 1934 he moved back to Bowdoin College as Pierce Professor of English. Coffin also worked with the University of New Hampshire as a founder and faculty member of the Towle Writer’s Conference. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, he produced a body of work that continued to draw upon his Maine culture.
Coffin’s writings were popular during his lifetime. He authored more than forty books, which include poetry, novels, biographies and essays. He was awarded many honors, including the 1936 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his collection Strange Holiness (1935). In 1945 he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters for his contribution to “works of permanent value in American literature,” and the American Academy for Arts and Sciences granted him membership in 1949. In 1953 he lectured at Athens University on American literature.
On January 20, 1955, Robert Peter Tristram Coffin died suddenly; he was at the peak of a distinguished academic career. His death was announced on the front page of The New York Times. The Robert P. Tristram Coffin Collection, which includes correspondence, poem and story manuscripts, etchings and sketches, photographs, a record of Coffin reading poetry, and various published materials, was given to the University of New Hampshire in 1981 and in 1986. As the title of his Pulitzer-Prize winning Strange Holiness suggests, it was Coffin’s intention to inspire by depicting the good in the world through poetry.