Tulips & Chimneys

Edward Estlin Cummings (1894–1962), a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Harvard University graduate, is best known for his rejection of traditional poetic forms. As e. e. cummings, he conducted radical experiments with spelling, syntax, and punctuation that inspired a revolution in twentieth-century literary expression and excited the admiration and affection of poetry lovers of all ages. With his 1923 debut, Tulips & Chimneys, the 25-year-old poet rattled the conservative literary scene, directing his avant-garde approach to the traditional subjects of love, life, time, and beauty. His playful treatment of punctuation and language adds enduring zest to such popular and oft-anthologized poems as " All in green went my love riding," " in Just-," " Tumbling-hair," " O sweet spontaneous," " Buffalo Bill''s," and " the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls." This edition presents complete and textually accurate editions of Cummings''s work, in keeping with the original manuscripts and the poet''s intentions.