In the pantheon of American letters, few figures cast as long or complex a shadow as James Russell Lowell (1819-1891). Poet, critic, editor, diplomat, and professor, Lowell embodied the intellectual ferment of nineteenth-century New England with a breadth that few of his contemporaries could match. His life spanned the tumultuous decades from the early republic through the Gilded Age, and his voice—whether wielding t…
“Talent is that which is in a man's power; genius is that in whose power a man is.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Political Poets, Romantic Poets, Social Justice Poets, Transcendentalists
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Tenderness
In the pantheon of American poets, Sidney Lanier occupies a singular position—a musician who wielded verse with the same technical mastery he brought to his flute, a Southern gentleman who sought to reconcile the fractured soul of his native region with the progressive ideals of a nation transformed by war. Born on February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, and dying tragically young on September 7, 1881, in Lynn, North Ca…
“Music is love in search of a voice.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Love Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Nature Poets, Poet-Musicians, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Tenderness, Sorrow, Spirituality
