author

David Park Barnitz

1878–1901

A gifted young American poet of the fin-de-siècle, he is remembered for the dark, haunting verse of The Book of Jade, published in 1901. His life was brief, but his work has kept a strong reputation among readers of decadent and macabre poetry.

1 Audiobook

The book of jade

The book of jade

by David Park Barnitz

About the author

Born on June 24, 1878, in Wheeling, West Virginia, David Park Barnitz was an American poet whose name is closely tied to The Book of Jade. That 1901 collection, published anonymously, later became his best-known work and is often associated with decadent poetry.

Barnitz died on October 10, 1901, when he was only 23 years old. Because his career was so short, his reputation rests largely on this single volume, but its intense mood and fascination with darkness, beauty, and mortality have helped it endure.

Although he left behind only a small body of work, Barnitz remains a memorable figure for readers interested in unusual late-19th-century poetry and the more shadowed corners of American literary history.