A Masque of Poets is an 1878 book of poetry published in the United States. The book included several poems, all published anonymously, including one by Emily Dickinson. Names were not included in the compilation so that the original works could be judged on their own merit without any preconceived notions about the poet.
The book compiled 68 poems as well as a "novellette in verse" titled Guy Vernon. The book was published by Roberts Brothers as part of their "No Name" series and included both American and British poets. [1] The series was meant to allow readers to enjoy literature based on its inherent merit without knowing the author's popularity. As the New York Graphic reported, readers were "forced to trust more to their own taste and judgment, and rely less on reputations". [2] Harper's Magazine also wrote of the series:
"The idea is a good one, not only because it will pique the curiosity of the reader, but also because it will put the writers on their mettle to do their best, and absolutely prevent that trading on reputation which is the greatest vice of American litterateurs." [3]
A Masque of Poets was edited by the poet George Lathrop [4] and its contributors included Amos Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Ellery Channing, Annie Adams Fields, James T. Fields, Sidney Lanier, Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, James Russell Lowell, Louise Moulton, Christina Rossetti, Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, Edmund Clarence Stedman, Celia Thaxter, and Sarah Chauncey Woolsey. [5] Guy Vernon, the long piece that concluded the book, was written by John Townsend Trowbridge.
Emily Dickinson, who rarely published poetry in her lifetime, contributed her poem "Success is Counted Sweetest" (published as "Success") at the urging of Helen Hunt Jackson. Jackson first wrote to Dickinson to encourage a contribution on August 20, 1876, before attempting to persuade her in person on October 10. Dickinson appealed to Thomas Wentworth Higginson to tell Jackson he disapproved of a contribution, but Jackson insisted: "You say you find great pleasure in reading my verses", she wrote to Dickinson, "Let somebody somewhere whom you do not know have the same pleasure in reading yours." [1] She revived the idea in April 1878 and offered to send the poem now known as "Success is Countest Sweetest" because she already knew it by heart. [6]
After the book's publication, Jackson wrote to Dickinson, "I suppose by this time you have seen the Masque of Poets. I hope you have not regretted giving me that choice bit of verse for it." [7] Jackson also published a review of the book, singling out "Success" as "undoubtedly one of the strongest and finest wrought things in the book", before noting conjecture on the poem's authorship would be worthless. [8] Dickinson thanked the publisher Thomas Niles for including her poem, to which he responded somewhat apologetically: "you have doubtless perceived [it] was slightly changed in phraseology." [9]
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1886.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1830.
Sic transit gloria mundi is a Latin phrase that means "Thus passes the glory of the world."
Helen Hunt Jackson was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. She described the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor (1881). Her novel Ramona (1884) dramatized the federal government's mistreatment of Native Americans in Southern California after the Mexican–American War and attracted considerable attention to her cause. Commercially popular, it was estimated to have been reprinted 300 times and most readers liked its romantic and picturesque qualities rather than its political content. The novel was so popular that it attracted many tourists to Southern California who wanted to see places from the book.
James Thomas Fields was an American publisher, editor, and poet. His business, Ticknor and Fields, was a notable publishing house in 19th century Boston.
Mei-mei Berssenbrugge is a contemporary poet. Winner of two American Book Awards, her work is often associated with the Language School, the poetry of the New York School, phenomenology, and visual art. She is married to the painter Richard Tuttle, with whom she has frequently collaborated.
Jones Very was an American poet, essayist, clergyman, and mystic associated with the American Transcendentalism movement. He was known as a scholar of William Shakespeare, and many of his poems were Shakespearean sonnets. He was well-known and respected among the Transcendentalists.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
The Ralph Waldo Emerson House is a house museum located at 18 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, Massachusetts, and a National Historic Landmark for its associations with American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. He and his family named the home Bush. The museum is open mid-April to mid-October; an admission fee is charged.
Aileen Lucia Fisher was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and articles for magazines and journals. Her poems have been anthologized many times and are frequently used in textbooks. In 1978 she was awarded the second National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Born in Michigan, Fisher moved to Colorado as an adult and lived there for the rest of her life.
David Gregory Miller is an American poet and academic. He has written four books of poetry. He is professor Emeritus of English at Millsaps College in Mississippi. Miller's poems have published in several literary magazines.
Edith Matilda Thomas was an American poet who "was one of the first poets to capture successfully the excitement of the modern city."
Messrs. Roberts Brothers (1857–1898) were bookbinders and publishers in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1857 by Austin J. Roberts, John F. Roberts, and Lewis A. Roberts, the firm began publishing around the early 1860s. American authors included: Louisa May Alcott, Susan Coolidge, Emily Dickinson, Maud Howe Elliott, Louise Imogen Guiney, Julia Ward Howe, Helen Hunt Jackson, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker. British and European authors included: Berthold Auerbach, Caroline Bauer, Mathilde Blind, Juliana Horatia Ewing, Anne Gilchrist, David Gray, Philip Gilbert Hamerton, Jean Ingelow, Vernon Lee, William Morris, Silvio Pellico, Adelaide Ristori, A. Mary F. Robinson, George Sand, Charlotte Mary Yonge, Helen Zimmern.
"Success is counted sweetest" is a lyric poem by Emily Dickinson written in 1859 and published anonymously in 1864. The poem uses the images of a victorious army and one dying warrior to suggest that only one who has suffered defeat can understand success.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
