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Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962) was an American poet and writer.
His first book of poetry came from his 1922 manuscript, Tulips & Chimneys. However, he was writing poetry as early as 1904 (age 10). His poetry is a complete rejection of formal poetry - traditional stanzas consisting of metered lines are rare for Cummings. Cummings' work typifies the style of poetry called free verse. His signature style is best summarized as all-lowercase words or parts of words scattered across the page, often making little sense until read aloud - at which point the beauty and strength of his genius becomes clear. His talent extends to children's books, novels, and painting as well. A notable example of his versatility is an introduction he wrote for a collection of his favorite comic strip, Krazy Kat.
Cummings attended Harvard University.
His name is frequently written in lowercase, e.e. cummings, as the lowercase form was a concept for a cover design by one of his publishers. Cummings himself capitalized his name however.
