author
David Morton
1886–1957
A Kentucky-born poet, teacher, and former newspaperman, he built a reputation for graceful, musical verse that reached a wide American readership. His career moved from journalism to the classroom, but poetry remained at the center of his life.
1 Audiobook
Ships in Harbour
by David Morton
About the author
David H. Morton was an American poet born in Elkton, Kentucky, on February 21, 1886. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1909, where he also played varsity football, and spent roughly a decade in newspaper work beginning at the Louisville Courier-Journal.
He later turned to teaching, first at a high school in Morristown, New Jersey, and then, beginning in 1924, at Amherst College. Alongside that academic career, he continued publishing poetry and became known as a skillful, accessible lyric poet.
Morton died on June 13, 1957. His life linked several worlds at once — Southern roots, newsroom experience, and college teaching — and that mix gives his poetry a polished style with a warm, human touch.