- George Pope Morris
Infobox Writer
name = George Pope Morris
imagesize = 180px
caption = George Pope Morris, 1836, oil on canvas byHenry Inman
birthdate = birth date|1802|10|10|mf=y
birthplace =Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
deathdate = death date and age|1864|7|6|1802|10|10|mf=y
deathplace =
occupation = EditorLiterary critic Poet
nationality = AmericanGeorge Pope Morris (October 10, 1802 – July 6, 1864) was an American editor, poet, and songwriter.
Life and work
With
Nathaniel Parker Willis , he co-founded the daily "New York Evening Mirror"Sova, Dawn B. "Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z". New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 160. ISBN 0-8160-4161-X] by merging his fledgling weekly "New York Mirror" with Willis's "American Monthly" in August 1831. [Baker, Thomas N. "Sentiment and Celebirty: Nathaniel Parker Willis and the Trials of Literary Fame". New York: Oxford University Press, 1999: 60. ISBN 0-19-512073-6] Morris is credited with the longevity the "Evening Mirror" would enjoy and for giving it a wide scope, covering not only news and entertainment but reviews of the fine arts, editorials, and many original engravings. [Callow, James T. "Kindred Spirits: Knickerbocker Writers and American Artists, 1807–1855". Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967: 94.] Morris also funded in advance Willis's trip to Europe, for which Willis wrote several letters to be published in the "Mirror", which helped establish his fame. [Baker, Thomas N. "Sentiment and Celebrity: Nathaniel Parker Willis and the Trials of Literary Fame". New York: Oxford University Press, 1999: 68. ISBN 0-19-512073-6] On January 29, 1845, the "Evening Mirror" was the first to publishEdgar Allan Poe 's "The Raven " as an "advance copy". [Sova, Dawn B. "Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z". New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 208. ISBN 0-8160-4161-X] The publishing partners also issued ananthology called "The Prose and Poetry of America" in 1845. [Auser, Courtland P. "Nathaniel P. Willis". New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1969: 118.]Willis and Morris left the "Mirror" in 1846 and founded a new weekly, the "National Press", which was renamed the "Home Journal" after eight months. [Auser, Courtland P. "Nathaniel P. Willis". New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1969: 125.] Beginning in 1901, it was published as "Town and Country" and is still in print under that title today. Their prospectus for the publication, published November 21, 1846, announced their intentions to create a magazine "to circle around the family table". [Auser, Courtland P. "Nathaniel P. Willis". New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1969: 125–126.]
In addition to his publishing and editorial work, Morris was popular as a poet and songwriter; especially well-known was his poem-turned-song "Woodman, Spare that Tree!" [Silverman, Kenneth. "Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance". New York: Harper Perennial, 1991: 223. ISBN 0-06-092331-8] His songs in particular were popular enough that "
Graham's Magazine " in Philadelphia promised Morris $50, sight unseen, for any work he wanted to publish in the periodical. [Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. "The Literary History of Philadelphia". Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906: 273–274. ISBN 1932109455.] "Woodman, Spare that Tree!" was first published in the January 17, 1837, issue of the "Mirror" under the title "The Oak" and was that year set to music by Henry Russell before being reprinted under its more common title in 1853. [Gardner, Martin. "Best Remembered Poems". Courier Dover Publications, 1992: 118. ISBN 0-486-27165-X] Lines from the poem are often quoted by environmentalists. The poem was also included in one of Morris's volumes of collected poems, "The Deserted Bride and Other Poems", 1838, which ran into several editions.Morris was friends with artist
Robert Walter Weir to whom he dedicated his only book of prose, "The Little Frenchman and His Water Lots" (1839). [Callow, James T. "Kindred Spirits: Knickerbocker Writers and American Artists, 1807–1855". Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967: 238.] A collection of short stories and sketches, the little Frenchman of the title story was the victim of an unscrupulous dealer in real estate borderingWallabout Bay , that was under water at high tide.Morris died July 6, 1864.cite web |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9806E3D9143EEE34BC4053DFB166838F679FDE |title=New York Times Archives |work=George P. Morris Obituary |accessmonthday=July 8 |accessyear=2008]
Critical response
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