Who is Gelett Burgess

Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, The Lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse, such as "The Purple Cow," and for introducing French modern art to the United States in an essay titled "The Wild Men of Paris." He was the author of the popular Goops books, and he coined the term "blurb."

Early life

Born in Boston, Burgess was "raised among staid, conservative New England gentry". He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a B.S. in 1887. After graduation, Burgess fled conservative Boston for the live...
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Gelett Burgess Poems

  • An Alphabet Of Famous Goops
    AN ALPHABET OF FAMOUS GOOPS.
    Which you 'll Regard with Yells and Whoops.
    Futile Acumen!
    For you Yourselves are Doubtless Dupes ...
  • The Floorless Room
    I Wish that my Room had a Floor!
    I don't so Much Care for a Door,
    But this Crawling Around
    Without Touching the Ground ...
  • Abstrosophy
    If echoes from the fitful past
    Could rise to mental view,
    Would all their fancied radiance last
    Or would some odors from the blast, ...
  • Table Manners
    THE Goops they lick their fingers,
    And the Goops they lick their knives;
    They spill their broth on the tablecloth-
    Oh, they lead disgusting lives! ...
  • The Purple Cow
    I never saw a Purple Cow,
    I never hope to see one,
    But I can tell you, anyhow,
    Iâ??d rather see than be one!...
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Top 10 most used topics by Gelett Burgess

Hair 5 Sad 4 Glad 4 Door 4 Room 3 Never 3 Time 3 Floor 3 House 2 Picture 2


Gelett Burgess Quotes

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Comments about Gelett Burgess

Edgardlemaire: "because he was my friend, because he was so lovable, because he suffered much, i want to try to tell the story of a boy who, in two months, became a man. my hero is georges cucurou, the son of a shoe-maker of toulouse. i happened to see him..." gelett burgess - war the creator
Truechilled9691: there is work that is work and there is play that is play there is play that is work and work that is play. and in only one of these lie happiness.,gelett burgess,happiness,
Johnmcdonald15: gelett burgess (1866-1951) he has a very modest place in the history of literature, but as an enthusiast of west coast and san francisco culture, it is a pleasure to post him. he co-founded "the lark" in 1895 which only lasted until 1897, but is interesting as part of the...
Bachbeethoven: jan 30 odt 1969 – the beatles' last public performance, on the roof of apple records in london. b. 1866 – gelett burgess, american author, poet, and critic (d. 1951) b. 1935 – richard brautigan, american novelist, poet, and short story writer (d. 1984) /2
Poetry4kids: i never saw a purple cow, but read a poem about one once, written by this guy right here, gelett burgess. today's his birthday, a perfect time to learn more about him and read some of his silliest poems.
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Poem of the day

Edgar Albert Guest Poem
The Killing Place
 by Edgar Albert Guest

We're hiking along at a two-forty pace
We 're making life seem like a man-killing race,
With our nerves all on edge and our jaws firmly set
We go rushing along; with our brows lined with sweat
And our cheeks pale and drawn every minute we dash,
And the goal that we 're after is merely more cash.

We 're out for the money, the greenbacks and gold,
...

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