The Road Not Taken: Adam Plunkett on The Life and Works of Robert Frost

Written by Isabella Rusate

The Department of Cultures, Arts and Literatures was proud to host Adam Plunkett, author of “Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry,” as a guest speaker. Professor Aidan Levy gave opening remarks, setting the stage for Plunkett to give his presentation on Robert Frost’s life and poetry. Plunkett’s book, “Love and Need,” was being sold at the event by Riverbend Bookshop.  

It was a snowy, cold, and quiet day on Monday, February 24, not unlike the idyllic scenes that Frost paints in his well-known poems, such as “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Attendees of the lecture gathered in the Crystal Room for Plunkett’s presentation, and those who came to learn more about Frost’s legacy were surely not left disappointed.  

Plunkett weaves the narrative of Frost’s life seamlessly through a careful, rich examination of Frost’s poetry that holds deep, untapped meaning and introspection. The hardships that defined Frost’s tumultuous and uprooted life glinted with new light as Plunkett unpacked the poet’s complex nature and inner turmoil. It was all drawn back seamlessly to one of Frosts more iconic poems, “The Road Not Taken.”  

The intermingling of literary references and inspirations that flow from Frost’s work were brought to the forefront of this lecture, from Ezra Pound to Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” One of the crucial things that Plunkett’s “Love and Need” seeks to do is recover these lost influences that even Frost sought to hide.  

USJ was very fortunate to have Plunkett as a guest. To gain the detailed and beautiful insight that Plunkett captured within the lecture, I encourage you to read “Love and Need.”

Featured image complied by Isabella Rusate