William Cullen Bryant
Bryant, William Cullen - 1794–1878, American poet and newspaper editor, b. Cummington, Mass. The son of a learned and highly respected physician, Bryant was exposed to English poetry in his father's vast library. As a boy he became devoted to the New England countryside and was a keen observer of nature. In his early poems such as "Thanatopsis," "To a Read More...
Bryant, William Cullen - 1794–1878, American poet and newspaper editor, b. Cummington, Mass. The son of a learned and highly respected physician, Bryant was exposed to English poetry in his father's vast library. As a boy he became devoted to the New England countryside and was a keen observer of nature. In his early poems such as "Thanatopsis," "To a Waterfowl," "Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood," and "The Yellow Violet," all written before he was 21, he celebrated the majesty of nature in a style that was influenced by the English romantics but also reflected a personal simplicity and dignity. Admitted to the bar in 1815 after a year at Williams and private study, Bryant practiced law in Great Barrington, Mass., until 1825, when he went to New York City. By that time he was already known as a poet and critic. He became associate editor of the New York Evening Post in 1826, and from 1829 to his death he was part owner and editor in chief. An industrious and forthright editor of a highly literate paper, he was a defender of human rights and an advocate of free trade, abolition of slavery, and other reforms. He also holds an important place in literature as the earliest American theorist of poetry. In his Lectures on Poetry (delivered 1825; published 1884) and other critical essays he stressed the values of simplicity, original imagination, and morality. During his later career Bryant traveled widely, made many public speeches, and continued to write a few poems (e.g., "The Death of the Flowers," "To the Fringed Gentian," and "The Battle-Field"). His blank verse translation of the Iliad appeared in 1870, that of the Odyssey in 1872. See biographies by P. Godwin (2 vol., 1883; repr. 1967), J. Bigelow (1890, repr. 1970), H. H. Peckham (1950, repr. 1971), and C. H. Brown (1971). The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved. |
William Cullen Bryant
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Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant ("Thanatopsis" begins on p. 21 and "To a Waterfowl" begins on p. 26)
by William Cullen Bryant. 362 pgs.
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William Cullen Bryant to Josiah Whitney Barstow: Three Letters, in American Notes & Queries
by George Monteiro. 3 pgs.
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"...a good book in which passionately reminiscential poets look back on the work of a predecessor..." -? "...belongs on the shelves of all libraries interested in American men of letters." -? During the second and third quarters of the nineteenth century, William Cullen Bryant was one of America's pre-eminent poets. A man of wide influence and interests, Bryant also achieved renown as editor of the New York Evening Post. At the time of his death in 1878, he was widely revered both at home and abroad as a great man. His lofty reputation has since receded, but it has not vanished. There are, indeed, signs of renewed interest in restoring Bryant's place. Among recent reappraisals of Bryant, Under Open Sky is remarkable for being written by contemporary American poets, including the Poet Laureate, Richard Wilbur. The editor of and contributor to this book, Norbert Krapf, like Bryant, a poet of nature, invited twenty poets to reflect on Bryant and write aobut him in poetry or prose. This collection consists largely of pieces specifically written for this book. It also contains a few previously published essays and poems. Chosen for 1987 AIGA Annual Graphic Design USA. The Contributors: Richard Wilbur, Richard Eberhart, Philip Appleman, Jared Carter, Vince Clemente, Richare Elman, Paul Engle, William Heyen, John Hollander, Aaron Kramer, Norbert Krapf, Albert F. McLean, Peter Michelson, Robert Morgan, Linda Pastan, Reva Sharon, William Jay Smith, William Stafford, Robyn Supraner, and Grace Volick.
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Columbia Literary History of the United States ("William Cullen Bryant and the Fireside Poets" begins on p. 278)
by Martha Banta, Emory Elliott, Terence Martin, David Minter, Marjorie Perloff, Daniel B. Shea. 1268 pgs.
For the first time in four decades, there exists an authoritative and up-to-date survey of the literature of the United States, from prehistoric cave narratives to the radical movements of the sixties and the experimentation of the eighties. This comprehensive volume -- one of the century's most important books in American studies -- extensively treats Hawthorne, Melville, Dickinson, Hemingway, and other long-cherished writers, while also giving considerable attention to recently discovered writers such as Kate Chopin and to literary movements and forms of writing not studied amply in the past. Informed by the most current critical and theoretical ideas, it sets forth a generation's interpretation of the rise of American civilization and culture. The Columbia Literary History of the United States contains essays by today's foremost scholars and critics, overseen by a board of distinguished editors headed by Emory Elliott of Princeton University. These contributors reexamine in contemporary terms traditional subjects such as the importance of Puritanism, Romanticism, and frontier humor in American life and writing, but they also fully explore themes and materials that have only begun to receive deserved attention in the last two decades. Among these are the role of women as writers, readers, and literary subjects and the impact of writers from minority groups, both inside and outside the literary establishment.
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Return to the Fountains: Some Classical Sources of American Criticism ("William Cullen Bryant" begins on p. 13)
by John Paul Pritchard. 276 pgs.
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Nature and the American: Three Centuries of Changing Attitudes (Discussion of William Cullen Bryant begins on p. 30)
by Hans Huth. 252 pgs.
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The Environmental Debate: A Documentary History (Document 37 "William Cullen Bryant's Proposal for a Great Municipal Park (1844)")
by Peter Rhoades Mott, Peninah Neimark. 323 pgs.
This unique collection of primary documents examines the evolution of concern about environmental degradation, pollution, and resource conservation in America from the colonial period to the end of the twentieth century. These documents, ranging from government reports and court cases to the writings of naturalists, economists, and novelists, offer a broad array of perspectives about such major environmental issues as population growth, air pollution, land and water use, toxins and waste disposal, and the use of timber and mining resources. The historical introductions to each part and to each document provide a context for analyzing each document and will aid readers of the book to better understand the various debates over how, why and if our environment needs to be protected. Students and other interested in environmental problems are encouraged to consider all sides of these complex issues before drawing their own conclusions.
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The Literature of the American People: An Historical and Critical Survey (Discussion of William Cullen Bryant begins on p. 248)
by Arthur Hobson Quinn. 1172 pgs.
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A History of American Letters (1936) ("William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)" begins on p. 111)
by Walter Fuller Taylor. 682 pgs.
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The Letters of William Cullen Bryant, Vol. 1
by William Cullen Bryant, Thomas G. Voss, William Cullen Bryant II. 506 pgs.
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Power for Sanity: Selected Editorials of William Cullen Bryant, 1829-1861
by William Cullen Bryant, William Cullen Bryant II. 396 pgs.
Bryant was America's earliest poet. But was even more influential in his long career as a political journalist.This is the only collection ever made of Bryant's letters, two-thirds of which have never before been printed. Their publication was foreseen by the late Allen Nevins as 'one of the most important and stimulating enterprises contributory to the enrichment of the nation's cultural and political life.
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