Robert Penn Warren Birthplace Museum

Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989) served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1944-1945; this honor was later termed Poet Laureate. The museum, where Warren was born, is open to visitors and contains items from Warren's life. Books written by and about Warren are available for sale. The house is currently owned and operated by The Committee For the Preservation of The Robert Penn Warren Birthplace In Todd County. 

Robert Penn Warren graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 1925. He then went on to obtain his MA in English from the University of California, Berkeley and spent two years at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Warren received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work in both fiction and poetry, received the National Book Award, and was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter. His work includes All the Kings Men (1946), A Place to Come To (1977), John Brown: The Making of a Martyr (1929), and Understanding Poetry (1938). Warren was fundamental in the creation of New Criticism, a literary theory which emphasizes close readings of literature and poetry. Though buried in Stratton, Vermont, a memorial marker can be found for Robert Penn Warren in the Warren family cemetery in Guthrie, KY.

Robert Penn Warren Library, Western Kentucky University. Accessed August 28th 2020. https://www.wku.edu/library/information/departments/dlsc/kentucky-library/rpwlib.php.

Robert Penn Warren Birthplace Museum, Robert Penn Warren. Accessed August 28th 2020. https://www.robertpennwarren.com/birthpla.html.