Robert Frost – The Frost Place

Robert Frost is one of the most popular and critically respected American poets of the twentieth century.  His work is highly regarded for his realistic descriptions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech, allowing him to depict New England life through language and situations familiar to the common man.

Robert Frost became one of America’s rare “public literary figures” and the unofficial “poet laureate” of the United States. He was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetical works.   Frost was a special guest at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, when he became the first poet to read in the program of a presidential inauguration in 1961.

“Birches” is one of Frost’s many famous poems, included in his third collection of poetry Mountain Interval that was published in 1916, only one year after he moved to Franconia, NH.

Through the poem “Birches” readers are given the opportunity to experience the natural surroundings that Robert Frost loved so dearly. Birch trees can be found scattered all over his former property in Franconia, NH along with a breathtaking view of the White Mountains that peak above Franconia Notch.

American Heritage Trees has been working with The Frost Place to collect seeds from these celebrated birch trees.

The Frost Place is a nonprofit educational center for poetry and the arts based at Robert Frost’s old homestead, which is owned by the town of Franconia, New Hampshire.

The Frost Place was founded in 1976 when a group of neighbors led by David Schaffer and Evangeline Machlin persuaded the Franconia town meeting to approve the purchase of the farmhouse where Robert Frost and his family lived full-time from 1915 to 1920 and spent nineteen summers. A board of trustees was given responsibility for management of the house and its associated programs, and from 1977 through 2005 teacher and scholar Donald Sheehan served as executive director. In 2010 the trustees appointed poet Maudelle Driskell as Sheehan’s successor. Since 1977, The Frost Place has awarded a fellowship each summer to an emerging American poet, including a cash stipend and the opportunity to live and write in the house for several months. In addition, The Frost Place has sponsored an annual Festival and Conference on Poetry for writers seeking classes and workshops with a faculty of illustrious poets, a teachers’ conference, and an advanced seminar.