Biography of Arthur Guiterman
Arthur Guiterman (; November 20, 1871 Vienna – January 11, 1943 New York) was an American writer best known for his humorous poems.Life and career
Guiterman was born of American parents in Vienna. His father was Alexander Gütermann, born in the Bavarian village Redwitz an der Rodach, and his mother was Louisa Wolf, born in Cincinnati. Arthur graduated from the City College of New York in 1891, and later was married in 1909 to Vida Lindo. He was an editor of the Woman's Home Companion and the Literary Digest. In 1910, he cofounded the Poetry Society of America, and later served as its president in 1925–26.An example of his humour is a poem that talks about modern progress, with rhyming couplets such as "First dentistry was painless;/Then bicycles were chainless". It ends on a more telling note:
Another Guiterman poem, "On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness", illustrates the philosophy also incorporated into his humorous rhymes:
Perhaps his most-quoted poem is his 1936 "D.A.R.ling" satire about the Daughters of the American Revolution (and three other clubs open only to descendants of pre-Independence British Americans). That poem has an intricate, strongly dramatic rhythmical structure.
He also notably wrote the libretto for Walter Damrosch's The Man Without a Country which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on May 12, 1937.
Bibliography
Poetry
CollectionsGuiterman, Arthur (1907). Betel nuts : what they say in Hindustan. San Francisco: P. Elder.
— (1915). The laughing muse. New York: Harper and Brothers.
— (1918). The mirthful lyre. New York: Harper and Brothers.
— (1923). The light guitar. New York: Harper and Brothers.
— (1927). Wildwood fables. New York: E.P. Dutton.
— (1929). Song and laughter. New York: E.P. Dutton.
— (1935). Death and General Putnam and 101 other poems. New York: E.P. Dutton.
— (1936). Gaily the troubadour. New York: E.P. Dutton.
— (1939). Lyric laughter. New York: E.P. Dutton.
— (1943). Brave laughter. New York: E.P. Dutton.List of poemsTranslationsBonsels, Waldemar (1929). The adventures of Maya the bee. Illustrated by Vera Bock; translated by Adele Szold Seltzer and Arthur Guiterman. New York: Boni.
Footnotes
References
External links
Works by Arthur Guiterman at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Arthur Guiterman at Internet Archive
Works by Arthur Guiterman at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
November 28, 1915, New York Times, Poets' Opportunities Greater than Ever Before; Arthur Guiterman Tells How to Make a Living Out of Verse and Gives a List of Don'ts for Aspiring Poets;- Advises Writing on Topical Themes
