Hart Crane, full name Harold Hart Crane, was an American poet who embraced the richness of life—including the life of the industrial age—with visionary intensity in songs. He was born on July 21, 1899 in Garrettsville, Ohio, and died on April 27, 1932 at sea in the Caribbean Sea. Besides being renowned as a poet, Hart Crane has also been cited as one of the first American avant-garde artists. His work pre-dating that of William Burroughs by about ten years has earned him this title. Burroughs was greatly influenced by Hart Crane; they even met once but did not get along well. Burroughs later wrote: "I had heard of Hart Crane before I ever saw his poems but I wasn't impressed because I associated him with everything fashionable among modern poets at the time. Later I read some of his poems and found them very strange and powerful." After graduating from Harvard University in 1922, Hart Crane moved to New York City where he became a part of the downtown art scene. He soon gained attention for his daring use of language and imagery which often reflected his obsession with death. In 1931, Hart Crane killed himself in the Caribbean Sea after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. He is now considered one of the leading figures in the early style of poetry known as "objective correlative".