John Gould Fletcher

John Gould Fletcher was an American poet born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1886 and active during the early twentieth century. He spent formative years in Europe, where he became associated with the Imagist movement and published volumes such as Irradiations: Sand and Spray (1915) and Goblins and Pagodas (1916). His poetry often employed vivid sensory imagery and experimented with free verse, drawing on nature, music, and the landscapes of both Europe and the American South. After returning to the United States, he became involved with the Southern Agrarian group and wrote works that reflected a deepening engagement with Southern history and folk culture. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1939 for his Selected Poems, a collection spanning his career. Fletcher died in 1950. His work is noted for its transition from Imagist experimentation to a more regional, traditionalist style.