1. e. e. cummings October 14 1894 - September 3 1962

2. The Life of Edward Estlin Cummings Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts! His family was Unitarian, which had a great influence on his life and his writing. He used prayers for inspiration in his poetry and artwork. He was both an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He wanted to become a poet from an early age; he wrote poems from the age of eight. He went on to study at Harvard. In 1917, during the First World War, he enlisted in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps. Due to his letters written home, he was sent to military detention camp in Normandy, staying there from September 1917 through December 1917. Later in 1918, he was drafted into the army, where he served until November, 1918. He got married briefly twice, and only had one child, whose name was Nancy. He also had a relationship with Marion Morehouse, and stayed with her until he died in 1962 due to a stroke.

3. His style. Common themes: love, nature, the relationship of the individual to the world, and satire. Experiences that led to influence: his time spent in military detention camp his time in the city of Paris his travel to the Soviet Union in 1931 his father’s death in a car crash in 1926 He began to focus more on important aspects of life. He also paid homage to his father’s memory in a poem. He spent the last 10 years of his life traveling and spending time at his summer home in Joy Farm, found in New Hampshire.

4. O sweet spontaneous by e. e. cummings O sweet spontaneous earth how often have the fingers of prurient philosophies pinched and thee, has the naughty thumb of science prodded thy beauty,how often have religions taken thee upon their scraggy knees squeezing and buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive gods (but true to the incomparable couch of death thy rhythmic lover thou answerest them only with spring) doting poked

5. O sweet spontaneous by e. e. cummings O sweet spontaneous earth how often have the doting fingers of prurient philosophies pinched and poked thee has the naughty thumb of science prodded thy beauty how often have religions taken thee upon their scraggy knees squeezing and buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive gods but true to the incomparable couch of death thy rhythmic lover thou answerest them only with spring prurient: having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters spontaneous: natural; involuntary science are shown to have a somewhat rude behavior towards nature while trying to adequately describe its beauty and its origins. Philosophy and Attempting a sort of punishment. They want the earth to give them a god, to support their own religion and beliefs. Even if abused like this, the earth still gives us life.