Poet
Pitter began writing poetry early in life under the influence of her parents, George and Louisa (Murrell) Pitter, both primary schoolteachers. In 1920, she published her first book of poetry with the help of Hilaire Belloc. Despite her business and factory work, Pitter managed to spend a few hours a day writing poetry.
She went on to publish 18 volumes of new and collected verse over a 70-year career as a published poet. Many of her volumes met with some critical and financial success.
She received the Hawthornden Prize in 1937 for A Trophy of Arms, published the previous year. In 1954 she won the William E. Heinemann Award for her book, Ermine (1953).
Read more about this topic: Ruth Pitter
Famous quotes containing the word poet:
“A poet must be a psychologist, but a secret one: he should know and feel the roots of phenomena but present only the phenomena themselvesin full bloom or as they fade away.”
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