Anne Sexton
Confessional poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for Live or Die.
Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet whose work falls squarely in the confessional tradition, marked by raw personal detail. She took home the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her collection *Live or Die*. Her poems frequently pulled from her own life, including her struggles with bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts. She had a knack for weaving fairy tales, mythology, and religious symbols into autobiographical material. Her writing remains influential and widely studied for its emotional punch and its impact on modern American poetry. After her death, one of her daughters has made allegations of abuse that appear in later biographies and scholarly work.
Sexton was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Mary Gray (Staples) Harvey and Ralph Churchill Harvey. She had two older sisters. Much of her childhood was spent in Boston, and her parents were reportedly abusive. She attended Rogers Hall boarding school in Lowell, Massachusetts, and later spent a year at Garland School. She lived for a time with her great aunt, whom she called her closest confidante, though that aunt was also institutionalized. Sexton briefly worked as a model for Boston’s Hart Agency. She married Alfred Muller Sexton II on August 16, 1948; they stayed together until 1973. Her first daughter, Linda Gray Sexton, was born in 1953, and her second, Joy Ladd Sexton, arrived two years later. Shortly after that second birth, she had her first major breakdown and was admitted to a neuropsychiatric hospital. She dealt with mental health issues for the rest of her life.
After Linda’s birth in 1953, Sexton began experiencing postpartum depression and symptoms of bipolar disorder, which was formally diagnosed in 1954. Following Joy’s birth in 1955, her depression worsened, and she attempted suicide for the first time, landing in Westwood Lodge in 1956. There, she met psychiatrist Dr. Martin Orne, who worked with her for the next eight years. He encouraged her to write poetry as a coping mechanism, telling her she had something to offer and that her poems could make others feel less alone. Between January and December 1957, she brought him 60 poems. That same year, she nervously attended her first poetry workshop at the Boston Centre for Adult Education, run by John Holmes, despite feeling out of place without formal training.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Anne Gray Harvey
- Birth Date
- 1928-11-09
- Birth Place
- Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Death Date
- 1974-10-04
- Death Place
- Weston, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Occupation
- Poet
- Spouse
- Alfred Sexton (1948–1973)
- Children
- 2, including Linda Gray Sexton
- Movement
- Confessional poetry
- Education
- Boston University
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Anne Sexton was born Anne Gray Harvey in Newton, Massachusetts, to Mary Gray (Staples) Harvey and Ralph Churchill Harvey. She had two older sisters. She spent most of her childhood in Boston. It is known that Sexton's parents were often abusive. In 1945 she enrolled at Rogers Hall boarding school, later spending a year at Garland School. She lived with her great aunt 'Nanna' whom Sexton considered her 'greatest confidante', though she was also institutionalised. For a time she modeled for Boston's Hart Agency. On August 16, 1948, she married Alfred Muller Sexton II and they remained together until 1973. Sexton had her first child, Linda Gray Sexton, in 1953. Her second child, Joy Ladd Sexton, was born two years later. Shortly after, she had her first breakdown and was admitted to a neuropsychiatric hospital.
Reader's Guide
Anne Sexton is seen as the modern model of the confessional poet due to the intimate and emotional content of her poetry. She often wrote about her struggles with mental illness. Topics regarded at the time as obscene and repulsive, especially when referred to by women, often appeared in her verse. Maxine Kumin wrote that Sexton 'wrote openly about menstruation, abortion, masturbation, incest, adultery, and drug addiction at a time when the proprieties embraced none of these as proper topics for poetry.' Sexton was one of the many poets who popularised confessional poetry. Her poetry was described as 'unflinching in the way it dealt with mental illness, a subject not often discussed in polite society.' Although Sexton was labelled as a confessional poet, she described herself as a 'storyteller', 'who understood the difference between poetic and literal truth.' Her third book Live or Die—based on her journey of recovery from mental illness—was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Within 12 years of writing her first sonnet, she was among the most honored poets in the U.S.: a Pulitzer Prize winner, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the first female member of the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. After her death, one of her daughters has alleged abuse in accounts discussed in some later biographies and scholarship.
Did You Know?
- Sexton's psychiatrist Dr. Martin Orne suggested she write poetry as an outlet, telling her 'You can't kill yourself; you have something to give.'
- She collaborated with musicians to form a jazz-rock group called Her Kind that added music to her poetry.
- Her play Mercy Street, starring Marian Seldes, was produced in 1969.
- Sexton wrote the first drafts of The Awful Rowing Toward God in 20 days, with 'two days out for despair and three days out in a mental hospital.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Anne Sexton?
Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey, 1928–1974) was an American poet from Massachusetts best known for her intensely personal, confessional verse. She is widely regarded as one of the defining voices of mid-twentieth-century American poetry.
What style or tradition is Anne Sexton associated with?
Sexton wrote in the confessional tradition, drawing directly on her own experiences with bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, and family life. She also wove fairy tales, mythology, and religious imagery into her autobiographical material, giving her work a distinctive mythic layer.
What major award did Anne Sexton win?
She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1967 for her collection *Live or Die*, a recognition that cemented her place in the literary canon and brought wide attention to her confessional approach.
How did Anne Sexton's life end?
Sexton died on October 4, 1974, in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 45. Her death, like much of her writing, was shaped by the long struggle with bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts she had openly explored in her poems.
Why is Anne Sexton still important to readers today?
Her unflinching emotional honesty broke new ground for women writers and helped shape the landscape of modern American poetry. Her work continues to be widely studied and anthologized for its raw power and its lasting influence on how poets approach personal trauma on the page.
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