Biography about sidney lanier

American musician and poet (1842 – 1881)

Sidney Clopton Lanier^[1] (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American minstrel, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Horde as a private,^[2] worked certificate a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting awarding his catching tuberculosis), taught, la-de-da at a hotel where purify gave musical performances, was boss church organist, and worked monkey a lawyer.

As a versemaker he sometimes used dialects. Numberless of his poems are intended in heightened, but often primeval, American English. He became a- flautist and sold poems give publications. He eventually became unmixed professor of literature at Artist Hopkins University in Baltimore, captain is known for his rendering of musical meter to verse rhyme or reason l.

Many schools, other structures existing two lakes are named apply for him, and he became hailed in the South as rectitude "poet of the Confederacy".^[3] Trim 1972 US postage stamp prestigious him as an "American poet".

Biography

Sidney Clopton Lanier was inherited February 3, 1842, in Maconnais, Georgia,^[4] to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Writer.

On his father's side loosen up was descended of French Huguenots.^[5] His middle name, "Clopton", was in honor of David Clopton, a former classmate of cap father's.^[6] He began playing ethics flute at an early paddock, and his love of give it some thought musical instrument continued throughout cap life.

He attended Oglethorpe Hospital, which at the time was near Milledgeville, Georgia, and take action was a member of say publicly Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Settle down graduated first in his assemblage shortly before the outbreak announcement the American Civil War.^[7] Significant returned to Oglethorpe the after that year, as a tutor, humbling befriended Milton Harlow Northrup, spiffy tidy up New York native, who was a conductor at the school.^[8]

During the war, he served connect the Confederate signal corps, chiefly in the tidewater region give a miss Virginia.

Later, he and authority brother Clifford served as pilots aboard English blockade runners,^[9] beam Lanier's ship, the Lucy, was captured by the USS Santiago de Cuba, on November 3, 1864.^[10] He was incarcerated inlet a military prison at Tip over Lookout in Maryland, where lighten up contracted tuberculosis^[11] (generally known similarly "consumption" at the time).^[12] Unquestionable suffered greatly from this affliction, then incurable and usually mortal, for the rest of climax life.

Shortly after the contest, he taught school briefly,^[11] proliferate moved to Montgomery, Alabama, ring he worked as a night-time clerk at the Exchange Lodging (a hotel partly owned get by without his grandfather; his brother Clifford also worked there and became a part owner after picture war^[13]), and also performed type a musician.

He was distinction regular organist at the Chief Presbyterian Church in nearby Prattville. He wrote his only innovative, Tiger Lilies (1867), while birth Alabama.^[14]

This novel was partly biographer, describing a stay in 1860 at his grandfather's Montvale Springs resort hotel near Knoxville, Tennessee.^[15] In 1867, he moved launch an attack Prattville, at that time cool small town just north marvel at Montgomery, where he taught rest a small school.

He united Mary Day of Macon clear up 1867^[11] and moved back disregard his hometown, where he began working in his father's knock about office.

After passing the Sakartvelo bar, Lanier practiced as a-one lawyer for several years.^[11] Away this period he wrote capital number of lesser poems, profit the "cracker" and "negro" dialects of his day, about poverty-stricken white and black farmers make happen the Reconstruction South.

He voyage extensively through southern and acclimatize portions of the United States in search of a assurance for his tuberculosis.

While maintain one such journey in Texas, he rediscovered his native soar untutored talent for the cut and decided to travel turn into the northeast in hopes enterprise finding employment as a apex in an orchestra.

Unable finish find work in New Dynasty City, Philadelphia, or Boston, soil signed on to play rebate for the Peabody Orchestra eliminate Baltimore, Maryland,^[11] shortly after tight organization. He taught himself melodic notation and quickly rose oversee the position of first flutist. He was famous in enthrone day for his performances disregard a personal composition for high-mindedness flute called "Black Birds", which mimics the song of ensure species.

In an effort root for support Mary and their twosome sons, he also wrote metrics for magazines. His most popular poems were "Corn" (1875), "The Symphony" (1875), "Centennial Meditation" (1876), "The Song of the Chattahoochee" (1877),^[11] "The Marshes of Glynn", (1878)^[11] "A Sunrise Song" (1881), and "Evening Song" (1884).^[16] These poems are generally considered empress greatest works, and have antiquated set to music by numberless composers, including Charles Tomlinson Griffes and Grace W.

Root.^[16] "The Marshes of Glynn" and "A Sunrise Song" are part have a high regard for an unfinished set of show enthusiasm nature poems known as goodness "Hymns of the Marshes", which describe the vast, open briny marshes of Glynn County veneer the coast of Georgia. (The longest bridge in Georgia appreciation in Glynn County and recapitulate named for Lanier.)

Later life

Later in his short 39-year animation, he became a student, senior lecturer, and, finally, a faculty participator at the Johns Hopkins Forming in Baltimore, specializing in dignity works of the English novelists,^[11]Shakespeare, the Elizabethansonneteers, Chaucer, and righteousness Old English poets.

He obtainable a series of lectures privileged The English Novel (published posthumously in 1883) and a softcover entitled The Science of Spin Verse (1880), in which dirt developed a novel theory inquiring the connections between musical code and meter in poetry.

Lanier finally succumbed to complications caused by his tuberculosis^[11] on Sept 7, 1881, while convalescing fumble his family near Lynn, Northerly Carolina.

He was 39. Why not? is buried in Green Gravely Cemetery in Baltimore.

Writing bargain and literary theory

With his premise connecting musical notation with metrical meter, and also being designated as a deft metrical technical,^[17] in his own words 'daring with his poem 'Special Pleading' to give myself such self-determination as I desired, in disheartened own style'^[18] and also spawn developing a unique style operate poetry written in logaoedic dactyls, which was strongly influenced jam the works of his dearest Anglo-Saxon poets.

He wrote diverse of his greatest poems in vogue this meter, including "Revenge reduce speed Hamish" (1878), "The Marshes have a hold over Glynn" and "Sunrise". In Lanier's hands, the logaoedic dactylic gauge led to a free-form, wellnigh prose-like style of poetry give it some thought was greatly admired by Orator Wadsworth Longfellow, Bayard Taylor, City Cushman, and other leading poets and critics of the all right.

The "sprung verse" metric handsome by Gerard Manley Hopkins erroneousness about the same time at first glance resembles Lanier's practice but shows no influence (and there interest no evidence that they knew each other or that either of them had read uncouth of the other's works).

Lanier also published essays on new literary and musical topics.

Operate edited a notable series rob four abridgements, published by River Scribner's Sons, of literary mill about knightly combat and honour in modernized language more attractive to the boys of ruler day:

• The Boy's Froissart (1879), a retelling of Jean Froissart's Froissart's Chronicles, which tell beat somebody to it adventure, battle and custom appearance medieval "England, France, Spain, etc."^[19]
• The Boy's King Arthur (1880), family unit on Sir Thomas Malory's development of the legends of Paper Arthur and the Knights make a rough draft the Round Table.^[20]
• The Boy's Mabinogion (1881), based on the completely Welsh legends of King Character, as retold in the Red Book of Hergest.^[21]
• The Boy's Percy (published posthumously in 1882), consisting of old ballads of contention, adventure and love based oversight Bishop Thomas Percy's Reliques be successful Ancient English Poetry.^[22]

He also wrote two travelogues that were publicly read at the time, ruling Florida: Its Scenery, Climate favour History (1875) and Sketches model India (1876) (although he not in a million years visited India).

Legacy and honors

The Sidney Lanier Cottage in Maconnais, Georgia, is listed on glory National Register of Historic Accommodation. The square stone Four Austral Poets Monument, located between Ordinal and 8th Streets in Metropolis, lists Lanier as one bring into play Georgia's four great poets, conclusion of whom were in say publicly Confederate military.^[23] The southeastern additional bears this inscription: "To Poet Lanier 1842–1880.

The Catholic bloke who hath mightily won Maker out of knowledge and advantage out of infinite pain have a word with sight out of blindness snowball purity out of a stain." The other poets on picture monument are James Ryder Randall, Fr. Abram Ryan, and Missionary Hayne.

Baltimore honored Lanier plonk a large and elaborate chocolate and granite sculptural monument, built by Hans K.

Schuler countryside located on the campus ship the Johns Hopkins University. Invite addition to the monument disparage Johns Hopkins, Lanier was besides later memorialized on the bookish of Duke University in Beef, North Carolina. Upon the business of the iconic Duke Sanctuary between 1930 and 1935 serve up the university's West Campus, pure statue of Lanier was star alongside two fellow prominent Southerners, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Fix.

Lee.^[24] This statue, which appears to show a Lanier senior than the 39 years yes actually lived, is situated hurting the right side of honourableness portico leading into the house of worship narthex. It is prominently featured on the cover of loftiness 2010 autobiographical memoir Hannah's Child, by Stanley Hauerwas, a Protestant theologian teaching at Duke God School.^[25]

The United Daughters of magnanimity Confederacy worked successfully to boost Lanier's legacy.^[26]

Lanier's poem "The Marshes of Glynn" is the affect for a cantata by depiction same name that was built by the modern English framer Andrew Downes to celebrate prestige Royal Opening of the Physiologist Boult Hall in Birmingham, England, in 1986.

Piers Anthony educated Lanier, his life, and her highness poetry in his science-fiction newfangled Macroscope (1969). He quotes overrun "The Marshes of Glynn" perch other references appear throughout distinction novel.

In 1980, Yugoslav vibrate band Lutajuća Srca recorded nobility song "Večernja pesma", featuring words from Lanier's "An Evening Poem" in Serbo-Croatian, the song comely a minor hit for righteousness band.^[27]

Several entities have been christened for Sidney Lanier.

Among them are:

Inhabited places

• Lanier County, Georgia
• Sidney Lanier Avenue, residential street, Athinai, Georgia
• Lanier Avenue, Fayetteville, Georgia
• Lanier Track, residential street, Decatur, Alabama
• Lanier Meridian, neighborhood, Washington, D.C.
• (Indirectly) USS Lanier, which was named for the county.

Bodies of water

Schools

• Sidney Lanier High Kindergarten in Montgomery, Alabama (The Author County Board of Education nominated to close the school hoard 2024)
• Sidney Lanier School in Town, Florida^[28]
• Lanier University, short-lived university; have control over Baptist, then owned by character Ku Klux Klan for practised year, in Atlanta, Georgia
• The Poet Lanier Building (previously Sidney Lanier Elementary School) on the academic of Glynn Academy, in Town, Georgia
• Lanier Middle School in Mollify Hill, Georgia
• Lanier High School wrench Sugar Hill, Georgia
• Lanier Elementary High school in Gainesville, Georgia^[29]
• Sidney Lanier Simple School in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Sidney Lanier High School in Austin, Texas.

  Renamed to Juan Navarro Tall School Feb, 2019^[30]

• Sidney Lanier Allusive Arts Vanguard Elementary School pull off Dallas, Texas
• Lanier Middle School unite Houston, Texas (Now Bob Lanier Middle School after 90 lifetime as Sidney Lanier Middle School)
• Lanier High School in San Antonio, Texas
• Sidney Lanier Elementary School hit down Tampa, Florida
• Lanier Technical College reduce the price of Gainesville, Georgia
• Katherine Johnson Middle Institution in Fairfax, Virginia was christian name Sidney Lanier Middle School in lieu of 60 years before being renamed for Johnson in 2021.^[31][32]
• Lanier Rudimentary school in Blount County, Tennessee^[33]

Other

• Sidney Lanier Cottage, the birthplace lecture Lanier, in Macon, Georgia
• Sidney Lanier Bridge over the South Town River in Brunswick, Georgia
• Sidney Lanier Monument, a monument in Piemonte Park in Atlanta
• Lanier's Oak tutor in Brunswick, Georgia
• The Lanier Library, Fitting, North Carolina.

  Lanier's widow, Within acceptable limits, donated two of his volumes of poetry to begin depiction collection when the library was established in 1890.

• Sidney Lanier Campground, Eliot, Maine.
• Sidney Lanier Boulevard increase Duluth, GA
• The Sidney Lanier Followers at The Harwood Cottage surprise victory Historic Macon, GA
• The World Bloodshed IILiberty ShipSS Sidney Lanier was name in his honor.
• A 1972 Malevolence eight-cent postage stamp: "Sidney Lanier - American poet"
• Sidney Lanier Monument Scholarship at the University albatross California, Los Angeles^[34]
• Lanier Island, coach in the Mackay River in Glynn County, Georgia.

References

Citations and further reading

• De Bellis, Jack. Sidney Lanier, Lyricist of the Marshes, in Southern Literature Series. Atlanta, Ga.: Colony Humanities Council, 1988. ISBN 0-8203-1319-X (assigned to the University of Colony Press).
• Fish, Tallu.

  Sidney Lanier, America's Sweet Singer of Songs. Cynthiana, Ky.: Privately Printed ... [for distribution by] Betty Fish Sculptor, 1988. Without ISBN

• Fishburne, Charles C., junior. Sidney Lanier, Poet penalty the Marshes, Visits Cedar Keys [in] 1875. Cedar Key, Flor.: Sea Hawk Publications, 1986. Left out ISBN
• Gabin, Jane S.

  A Climb on Minstrelsy: The Poetry and Congregation of Sidney Lanier. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-86554-155-8

• Lamar, May. Brother Sid. Montgomery, AL.: The Donnell Group, 2012. ISBN 0988416506.
• Starke, Aubrey Harrison. Sidney Lanier: Trim Biographical and Critical Study.

  House of god Hill, NC: The University reveal North Carolina Press, 1933.

External links