Gretchen Cherington

Listen to "Gretchen Cherington Releases The Book Poetic License" on Spreaker. In the vein of Small Fry by Lisa Brennan Jobs and Famous Father Girl by Jamie Bernstein, Cherington’s memoir explores her life as a Pulitzer prize winning poet’s daughter: how she confronts her family’s myths and her beloved father’s betrayals while finding her voice and establishing her own legacy. A celebrated writer in her own right (her essay “Maine Roustabout” was nominated for a 2012 Pushcart Prize), her father Richard Eberhart was a household name whose literary career spanned eight decades, including his roles as poet-in-residence-turned-emeritus professor at Dartmouth, U.S. Poet Laureate under Eisenhower and Kennedy from 1959-1961, and winner of the Bollinger prize in 1962, the Pulitzer Prize in 1966, and the National Book Award in 1977 (with an additional 5 nominations). To the world, her father was untouchable, a revered celebrity talent. But to Gretchen, he was just her beloved dad. Until he wasn’t.