Persona

Jeffers, John Robinson

1887-1962

John Robinson Jeffers was born January 10, 1887 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Jeffers attended schools throughout Europe as a child. He graduated from Occidental College in California at age 18 and then attended the University of Southern California. Jeffers received an inheritance in 1912 that allowed him to focus on his writing. He married Una Call Kuster in 1913 and moved to Carmel, California. In 1919, Jeffers began building a stone cottage on land overlooking Carmel Bay (Tor House) and then built a forty-foot stone tower near the cottage (Hawk Tower). Jeffers was a noted American poet who was known for his poems in narrative and epic form. Many of his works focus on the beauty and ruggedness of the wild particularly against the negative influence of civilization. His third book, "Tamar and Other Poems" (1924), brought him critical and popular fame. He became so popular that he was on the cover of "Time" magazine in 1932. He published 19 volumes of poetry and drama. Jeffers died on January 20, 1962 in California.