A. R. Ammons Biography

Multiple award winning American poet Archie Randolph Ammons, better known as A. R. Ammons, was famous for his works describing the wonders of nature and humanity’s complex and often unfortunate interactions with the natural elements. He was considered a major poet in the history of American literature, and this was a fact that continued to amaze him for long. For he never wrote to gain fame or fortune, he wrote only for the love of poetry. Yet his poems were so moving and thought provoking that fame and recognition became inevitable. As a poet he never felt the need to adhere to any set genre even though his writings were greatly influenced by those of the great poet Ralph Waldo Emerson who himself never followed any set tradition. Ammons loved to write from a young age and his works reflected his experiences of growing up in a cotton and tobacco farm as a youngster. Even though he was highly talented, success did not come easily to him. The very first book he wrote sold only 16 copies over a period of five years! It took him ten more years and a lot of struggles before he could taste success. Literary critics today consider him to be one of the greatest nature poets in American history.