Obituary: Hayden Carruth

One of American poetry's most distinctive voices, the writer and critic Hayden Carruth, has died aged 87. Although he found acclaim relatively late in life, his deceptively simple style, infused with the rhythms and inflections of jazz, explored themes of sorrow, loneliness and human dignity, but also bore witness to the ravages of mental illness. He survived two suicide attempts, and lived for many years in rural Vermont, where through working the land he found an antidote to the depression and existential torments that plagued him. After many years of neglect his work was recognised when his Collected Shorter Poems, 1946-1991 was awarded the 1992 National Book Critics Circle award for poetry, and in 1996 his collection Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey won the National Book Award. Carruth was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and, as... [read full story]