Pictured: Helen Huebner Roethke (left); Beatrice and Theodore Roethke (center); Otto Roethke (right). Click to enlarge. Photo: @blueskies_and_dragonflies

Today is Theodore Roethke's 112th birthday. Although in the past we have been able to celebrate this day together on the grounds of Roethke House in Saginaw, this year the COVID-19 situation has necessitated a change.  So while we cannot be together in person right now, the Friends of Theodore Roethke Foundation has decided to continue preserving and promoting the poet's literary legacy by strengthening Roethke’s online presence.  This includes adding this blog feature to our existing website, bringing a brand new Roethke presence to Instagram, and refreshing the Roethke Facebook and Twitter feeds.  This way, Friends of Theodore Roethke Foundation will be able to share unique aspects of the poet's childhood home to a broader and growing audience now and in the future, regardless of our physical proximity.

In honor of the poet's birthday, and for those who may be only recently introduced to Roethke’s work, here are some facts about how his life began in Saginaw: Theodore Roethke's grandfather, Wilhelm Roethke was from Pasewalk, Prussia, which is located today in the Northeastern corner of Germany, by the Polish border.  Wilhelm immigrated to Saginaw in 1872, from Berlin, Germany, so that his sons would not be swept up into military service. Theodore was born to Helen Huebner Roethke and Otto Roethke in Saginaw, Michigan on May 25th, 1908, and grew up in the house now known as the Theodore Roethke Home Museum.  More information about Roethke’s life and work can be found here.

We're glad that you're with us, and we're happy to be here beside you during these trying times. Please consider following us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for updates on the Stone House renovations, the summer picnic series, and of course, posts about poetry and love of language. As we think of Theodore Roethke on his birthday, we also pause on this Memorial Day the honor the great sacrifice many have made to protect our freedom to speak and to write about what moves us.