Outre-Mer

Last updated

Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea is a prose collection by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was the first major work by Longfellow and it was inspired by his travels in Europe as a young man. The term "outre-mer" is French for "overseas".

Contents

Overview

In preparation for his employment as a professor of language at his alma mater Bowdoin College, Longfellow traveled to Europe. [1] His stay there may have inspired Outre-Mer. It is his first published literary work after previously publishing academic texts. [2]

After Longfellow received a professorship at Harvard College, he rented a room in Cambridge, Massachusetts from Elizabeth Craigie, the widow of Andrew Craigie, who had been the first Apothecary General of the United States, in the summer of 1837. [3] Assuming the young-looking Longfellow was a student at neighboring Harvard, Mrs. Craigie refused to board him. Longfellow convinced her that he was a faculty member, and pointed out that he was the author of Outre-Mer, which she had a copy of. [4] The Craigie House is now the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site. When Longfellow first met his wife-to-be Fanny Appleton, she was traveling in Switzerland in 1836 with her family, including her father the industrialist Nathan Appleton. After meeting Longfellow, she wrote in her journal that she hoped he would not "pop in on us" though, she admitted "I did like his Outre-Mer". [5]

Publication history and reception

Longfellow, who was experimenting with prose writings, published the first parts of Outre-Mer in pamphlet form in the 1830s. Harper & Brothers published the completed work in two volumes in 1835 without the author's name. [6] Longfellow traveled to Europe shortly afterward, and while in London had an English edition printed, credited only by "An American". [6]

The book was not particularly successful. The indifferent reception, as well as his duties as a Harvard professor, prevented Longfellow from producing significant literary works until 1838, with his poem "A Psalm of Life" and his novel Hyperion . [7] However, Longfellow's former Bowdoin College classmate Nathaniel Hawthorne enjoyed the work so much that it inspired him to rekindle their acquaintanceship. Hawthorne also offered Longfellow a copy of his recently published Twice-Told Tales . [8]

Longfellow would later work with publishers Ticknor and Fields in Boston, which reissued Outre-Mer and most of his other early writings in the 1850s.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathaniel Hawthorne</span> American writer and novelist (1804–1864)

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</span> American poet and educator (1807–1882)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems "Paul Revere's Ride", "The Song of Hiawatha", and "Evangeline". He was the first American to completely translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and was one of the fireside poets from New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Russell Lowell</span> American poet, critic, editor, and diplomat (1819–1891)

James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that rivaled the popularity of British poets. These writers usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria White Lowell</span> American poet and abolitionist

Maria White Lowell was an American poet and abolitionist. Her poems were privately printed by her husband, James Russell Lowell, the poet, two years after her death.

<i>Evangeline</i> Epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Emerson Worcester</span> American lexicographer

Joseph Emerson Worcester was an American lexicographer who was the chief competitor to Noah Webster of Webster's Dictionary in the mid-nineteenth-century. Their rivalry became known as the "dictionary wars". Worcester's dictionaries focused on traditional pronunciation and spelling, unlike Noah Webster's attempts to Americanize words. Worcester was respected by American writers and his dictionary maintained a strong hold on the American marketplace until a later, posthumous version of Webster's book appeared in 1864. After Worcester's death in 1865, their war ended.

<i>The Courtship of Miles Standish</i> 1858 poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Courtship of Miles Standish is an 1858 narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the early days of Plymouth Colony, the colonial settlement established in America by the Mayflower Pilgrims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site</span> Historic site in Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site is a historic site located at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the home of noted American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for almost 50 years, and it had previously served as the headquarters of General George Washington (1775–76).

<i>Twice-Told Tales</i> Short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Twice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The first volume was published in the spring of 1837 and the second in 1842. The stories had all been previously published in magazines and annuals, hence the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Gold Appleton</span> American poet

Thomas Gold Appleton, son of merchant Nathan Appleton and Maria Theresa Gold, was an American writer, an artist, and a patron of the fine arts. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow became his brother-in-law after marrying Appleton's sister Frances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel W. Rowse</span>

Samuel Worcester Rowse was an American illustrator, lithographer, and painter. He was most famous for his drawings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Rowse is also well known for his lithograph, The Resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireside poets</span> 19th-century New England poet group

The fireside poets – also known as the schoolroom or household poets – were a group of 19th-century American poets associated with New England. These poets were very popular among readers and critics both in the United States and overseas. Their domestic themes and messages of morality presented in conventional poetic forms deeply shaped their era until their decline in popularity at the beginning of the 20th century.

<i>Tales of a Wayside Inn</i> Book by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tales of a Wayside Inn is a collection of poems by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The book, published in 1863, depicts a group of people at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts as each tells a story in the form of a poem. The characters telling the stories at the inn are based on real people. The compilation, which Longfellow originally wanted to title "The Sudbury Tales", proved to be popular and he issued two additional series in the 1870s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Longfellow</span>

Samuel Longfellow was an American clergyman and hymn writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Village Blacksmith</span> Poem

"The Village Blacksmith" is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1840. The poem describes a local blacksmith and his daily life. The blacksmith serves as a role model who balances his job with the role he plays with his family and community. Years after its publication, a tree mentioned in the poem was cut down and part of it was made into an armchair which was then presented to Longfellow by local schoolchildren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dexter Pratt House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Dexter Pratt House is an historic house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is remembered as the home of Dexter Pratt, the blacksmith who inspired the poem "The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ticknor and Fields</span> American publishing company

Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business would publish many 19th century American authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain. It also became an early publisher of The Atlantic Monthly and North American Review.

<i>Hyperion</i> (Longfellow novel)

Hyperion: A Romance is one of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's earliest works, published in 1839. It is a prose romance which was published alongside his first volume of poems, Voices of the Night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Wadsworth Longfellow</span> American painter

Ernest Wadsworth Longfellow (1845–1921) was an American artist in Boston, Massachusetts, and New York. He was the son of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Mary Longfellow</span>

Alice Mary Longfellow was a philanthropist, preservationist, and the eldest surviving daughter of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. She is best known as "grave Alice" from her father's poem "The Children's Hour".

References

  1. ↑ Arvin, Newton. Longfellow: His Life and Work. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1963: 26.
  2. ↑ Williams, Cecil B. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964: 66.
  3. ↑ Wagenknecht, Edward. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Portrait of an American Humanist. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966: 6.
  4. ↑ Wagenknecht, Edward. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Portrait of an American Humanist. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966: 7.
  5. ↑ Wagenknecht, Edward. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Portrait of an American Humanist. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966: 162.
  6. 1 2 Williams, Cecil B. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964: 109.
  7. ↑ Williams, Cecil B. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964: 114.
  8. ↑ Mellow, James R. Hawthorne in His Times. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980: 78–79. ISBN   0-395-27602-0
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.