Robert Pinsky was born on October 20, 1940, in Long Branch, New Jersey, a former resort town along the Atlantic coast whose slow decay would figure into much of Pinsky's autobiographical poetry later on. He grew up in what he terms a "nominally orthodox" Jewish family, well respected in the community, but with as many secular activities as religious ones. Both parents attended synagogue only on high holy days. As the oldest son, Pinsky was required to go to synagogue every Saturday to attend a three-hour orthodox service in which he listened to the elders chant prayers in Hebrew, a language he did not understand. This experience, too, would figure into his future work as a poet.

In 1961, at the age of twenty-one, Pinsky married Ellen Jane Bailey. The following year, he received his undergraduate degree in English from Rutgers University. He enrolled for graduate studies shortly afterwards...