author
Denton Jaques Snider
1841–1925
A prolific Midwestern man of letters, he wrote across philosophy, literary criticism, psychology, history, and poetry while helping shape the St. Louis Hegelian movement. His work bridges classroom learning, big ideas, and an almost unstoppable drive to turn reading into a lifelong intellectual project.
1 Audiobook
Homer's Odyssey A Commentary
by Denton Jaques Snider
About the author
Born in Mount Gilead, Ohio, in 1841, Denton Jaques Snider became a writer, teacher, and literary critic closely associated with the St. Louis movement in philosophy. Reliable reference sources describe him as part of the circle around William Torrey Harris and the St. Louis Philosophical Society, and note that he taught in St. Louis schools after serving in the Civil War.
Snider wrote extensively and ambitiously, producing books on literature, philosophy, psychology, history, and culture, along with poetry and drama. Catalog and library records show a remarkably large body of work, including studies of Shakespeare, Homer, and Abraham Lincoln, as well as broader reflections on American life and education.
What makes him memorable is the scale of his intellectual effort: he was not just a critic of books, but a builder of personal systems and interpretations, especially influenced by Hegelian thought. He died in 1925, leaving behind a body of writing that still stands out for its range and for its place in the history of American ideas.