Truman Capote as a Poet

Abstract

Truman Capote (1924-1984) was a fascinating, entertaining, and much ballyhooed American character who came of age in the mid-Twentieth Century. Some would say he led a tragic life. Often described as a notable novelist, he was more generally a polymath dabbling in nonfiction between his parties. He also was a screenwriter, playwright, actor, and short-story writer. His literary classics include the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958, movie 1961) and true crime nonfiction "novel" (as Capote described it) In Cold Blood (1965, movie 1967). These two efforts became his most famous. But what about his poetry? Was this one of his creative passions?

Truman Capote as a young man, in front of puppets and patterned backdrop. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection [reproduction number, eg, LC-USZ62-54231].