Maxine Kumin was born in Philadelphia, in 1925, the fourth child and only daughter of Doll and Peter Winokur, and grew up in a well-to-do household. As a child, she was a great reader, who adored British books throughout her childhood. By the age of eight, she had composed so many poems that her brother was able to illustrate a collection of them. The proximity of the family home to the convent that Maxine attended in the early grades exposed her to Christianity, and her experiences there, especially her interaction with the nuns, later became the source of a number of poems. Radcliffe College, where she found companions who shared her intellectual passions and developed an understanding of world history and literature, opened new horizons for Maxine. Like others who came of age in the…
1449 words
Citation: Rubin, Lois. "Maxine Kumin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 August 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2568, accessed 22 November 2024.]
