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This back porch on the second floor of his house is where the magic happened! This is where Roethke wrote some of his poems looking at his family greenhouses.

Ted and Beatrice, his wife. Beatrice is in her nineties now and lives in England.

The poet's baby photo.

A photograph of Ted's parents, Otto and Helen Roethke.

Written by Jeff Vande Zande, American Poet (2012) is a novel set in Saginaw, Michigan, Theodore Roethke's hometown. The protagonist is a young man and poet who discovers the Roethke house, his own family, his poetic voice.

Located at 1805 Gratiot Ave, Saginaw, MI 48602, this modest house in which Roethke grew up, has been the setting of many his celebrated poems including My Papa's Waltz. The house is now a historic site and a museum.

Roethke was very close to his younger sister, June.

Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American poet who was born and raised in Saginaw, a small town located in central Michigan. His father owned a house, a floral company, and extensive greenhouses where the poet spent his…