b. 1928d. 1974

Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton
Known for her intensely emotional confessional poetry, Anne Sexton was a successful writer and poet during her lifetime. In 1967, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her poems are characterized by their autobiographical aspect, often recounting her constant struggle with depression and mental illness. Photo: Anne Sexton, 1967, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Audio

“Her Kind” (from “Sexton Songs”)
Marnie Breckenridge (soprano), Ensemble Parallele & Nicole Paiement (conductor)2:37

David Conte

Composer

Anne Sexton

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

Used with the permission of the composer

“Rowing” (from “Sexton Songs”)
Marnie Breckenridge (soprano), Ensemble Parallele & Nicole Paiement (conductor)4:33

David Conte

Composer

Anne Sexton

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

Used with the permission of the composer

“Riding the Elevator into the Sky” (from “Sexton Songs”)
Marnie Breckenridge (soprano), Ensemble Parallele & Nicole Paiement (conductor)4:40

David Conte

Composer

Anne Sexton

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

Used with the permission of the composer

“Ringing the Bells” (from “Sexton Songs”)
Marnie Breckenridge (soprano), Ensemble Parallele & Nicole Paiement (conductor)4:14

David Conte

Composer

Anne Sexton

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

Used with the permission of the composer

“Us” (from “Sexton Songs”)
Marnie Breckenridge (soprano), Ensemble Parallele & Nicole Paiement (conductor)3:59

David Conte

Composer

Anne Sexton

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

Used with the permission of the composer

About

Born in Massachusetts, Sexton suffered from mental illness and severe depression throughout her life. After her second severe breakdown in 1955, Sexton’s doctor encouraged her to start writing poetry.

Sexton experienced early success with her poems, with publications in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and Saturday Review shortly after beginning her writing career. Her studies with Robert Lowell (alongside Sylvia Plath and George Starbuck at Boston University) were influential on her poetry.

As time progressed, Sexton continued to meet success with her work, encouraged poet Maxine Kumin, and eventually co-wrote four childrens books with her. She often collaborated with musicians and formed the jazz-rock group Her Kind. However, her depression became increasingly manic, and she took her own life in 1974.

–Christie Finn

Related Information

Lieder.net

lieder.net/lieder/get_author_texts.html?AuthorId=2558

Poetry Foundation

poetryfoundation.org/poets/anne-sexton

Poets.org

poets.org/poetsorg/poet/anne-sexton

Mezzo Camine Timeline Project

mezzocammin.com/timeline/timeline.php?vol=timeline&iss=1900&cat=20&page=sexton

Modern American Poetry

modernamericanpoetry.org/poet/anne-sexton

Songs

I Will Breathe a Mountain1991William BolcomElizabeth Bishop, Louise Bogan, Gwendolyn Brooks, Edna St. Vincent Millay, H. D., Emily Dickinson, Alice Fulton, Denise Levertov, Marianne Moore, Anne Sexton, May SwensonJust Once1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomAnne SextonHer Kind2004 · Sexton SongsDavid ConteAnne SextonRiding the Elevator into the Sky2004 · Sexton SongsDavid ConteAnne SextonRinging the Bells2004 · Sexton SongsDavid ConteAnne SextonRowing2004 · Sexton SongsDavid ConteAnne SextonSexton Songs2004David ConteAnne SextonUs2004 · Sexton SongsDavid ConteAnne Sexton

Books

The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton

Buy via Amazon

Sheet Music

I Will Breathe a Mountain

William Bolcom
1. Pity Me Not Because the Light of Day
2. How To Swing Those Obbligatos Around
3. The Crazy Woman
4. Just Once Text: Anne Sexton
5. Never More Will The Wind
6. The Sage Text: Denise Levertov
7. O To Be a Dragon
8. The Bustle in a House
9. I Saw Eternity
10. Night Practice
11. The Fish
Buy via Sheet Music Plus

Sexton Songs (all versions)

David Conte
1. Rowing
2. Her Kind
3. Ringing the Bells
4. Riding the Elevator into the Sky
5. Us
Buy via Sheet Music Plus