Edna St. Vincent Millay: Greenwich Village and Beyond
A lecture and slideshow

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), recipient of the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, was a daring, versatile writer whose work includes poetry, plays, essays, short stories, songs, and a libretto to an opera that premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Writing poems about social equality and personal freedom, Millay brought new hope to a generation of youth disillusioned by the social and political upheaval of the First World War. Her free-spirited life in the early 1920s in Greenwich Village, where her suitors included Edmund Wilson, John Dos Passos and other literary names of the day, is well- documented by historians. Yet her poetry adds a more vibrant personal dimension to the era’s social history by illuminating the Bohemian lifestyle she and her friends enjoyed.

Join us to meet Holly Peppe, Millay’s Literary Executor and Mark O’Berski, Vice President of the Millay Society, who will present an illustrated talk about Millay’s life and career from her early days in the Village to her country life at Steepletop in Austerlitz, NY, where her house and gardens are now open for visitors. Dr. Peppe, who edited the Penguin and Harper’s editions of Millay’s poems, will also share stories about her friendship with the poet’s sister and include selected readings from the poet’s work.

Steepletop is an easy day trip from NYC and travel information will be provided.