康拉德·艾肯(出生于乔治亚州的萨凡纳，1889——1973)
当他12岁的时候，康拉德﹒艾肯就成为一个最重要的源头性的和现代美国诗人中的一个，以这样的诗行开始写下一首诗：
整天隐藏在缠结的草丛里
狮子蹲伏于为捕食的等待
因为这首诗学校授予一枚刻着他名字的金质奖章。他决心成为一个诗人。
此后很短时间，他的父母亲都突然不幸辞世，他被带到马萨诸塞州新贝德福德，在那里他跟他的曾姑奶奶一起生活，有一个像小了望塔一样的房间，面朝大海和海港里的鱼腥味。这儿他读诗人们的诗，梦想“大海里的城市”。
当他进了哈佛大学，他仍然写着诗，学院出版印刷了它们。一首诗花费了他十天时间。当局反对他旷课十天（在那儿他的声望高）。这位诗人被激怒了，离开学院六个月，利用这个时间到意大利旅行。此后1911年他回到哈佛，成了一个校园诗人，在一个学院的一代人里包括范威克﹒布鲁克斯，沃尔特﹒李普曼，T﹒S﹒艾略特，晚一点的艾伦﹒西格，约翰﹒瑞德,和海伍德﹒布朗。
自从他有独立的收入，他从来没觉得有必要仅仅为钱写作。他到处旅行,而一次次地回到剑桥。他出版了十六本诗集，一本选集，一些短篇故事和小说，很多批评文章。他曾经写了一个残忍的人，一个匿名的人评论他的书《记忆的春天夜景》，揭露他文学上的错误。他出版过艾米莉﹒迪金森诗选的英语版本，他说这著作“也许是一个女人用英语写的最好的。”
Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5, 1889 – August 17, 1973) was an American writer and poet, honored with a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, and was United States Poet Laureate from 1950 to 1952. His published works include poetry, short stories, novels, literary criticism, a play, and an autobiography.
Biography
Early years
Aiken was the eldest son of William Ford and Anna (Potter) Aiken. In Savannah, Aiken's father became a respected physician and eye surgeon, while his mother was the daughter of a prominent Massachusetts Unitarian minister. On February 27, 1901, Dr. Aiken murdered his wife and then committed suicide. According to his autobiography, Ushant, Aiken, then 11 years old, heard the two gunshots and discovered the bodies immediately thereafter. After his parents' deaths, he was raised by his great-aunt and uncle in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending Middlesex School, then Harvard University.
At Harvard, Aiken edited the Advocate with T. S. Eliot, who became a lifelong friend, colleague, and influence. It was also at Harvard where Aiken studied under another significant influence in his writing, the philosopher George Santayana.
Adult years
Aiken was strongly influenced by symbolism, especially in his earlier works. In 1930 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his Selected Poems. Many of his writings had strong psychological themes. He wrote the widely anthologized short story "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" (1934), partially based on his childhood tragedy.