Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Abstract:
- The Sterling mss., 1912-1925, consist of letters and poems of George Sterling, 1869-1926, poet.
- Extent:
- 1 folio
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Sterling mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
George Sterling, 1869-1926, was an American poet. Born in New York, Sterling was educated under Father Tabb in Maryland, but after leaving the priesthood, his parents sent him to San Francisco, where he fell in with the city's literary bohemia. He began publishing poetry in California with the help of his friend and mentor, the American short story writer and poet Ambrose Bierce, whose opinion on his own work he held in highest esteem. American novelist Jack London was another close friend of his. After his divorce, he moved back to the East, where New York critics failed to appreciate his work. In 1926, he committed suicide by cyanide. His works include The Testimony of the Sun (1903), A Wine of Wizardry (1909), The House of Orchids (1911), Thirty-Five Sonnets (1917), and Selected Poems (1923).
- Scope and Content:
The Sterling mss., 1912-1925, consist of letters and poems of George Sterling, 1869-1926, poet.
Included are letters from Sterling to Ina Cowdery M. Beckman, William Stanley Beaumont Braithwaite, and Mrs. Charmian (Kittredge) London.
The collection also contains manuscripts of the following poems by George Sterling: "Ode on the centenary of the birth of Robert Browning," 1912, (typescript with holograph changes, signed), which was published in Sterling's Beyond the Breakers and Other Poems (San Francisco, A.M. Robertson, 1914), pp. 27-35 (Lilly PS3537 .T465 B5); "Infidels" (holograph ms. in pencil, unsigned); "A lost garden, 1916" (holograph ms. in pencil, signed); "Magdalene" (holograph ms. in pencil, unsigned); "Memory" (holograph ms. in pencil, signed); and "Together" (holograph ms., signed).
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired: Purchase. 1964.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Folio
Indexed Terms
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Sterling mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu