author
George Sterling
1869–1926
A central figure in early 20th-century California literary life, this poet helped shape the bohemian culture of San Francisco and Carmel-by-the-Sea. His richly musical verse and dramatic imagination won the admiration of writers from Ambrose Bierce to Robinson Jeffers.
1 Audiobook
The House of Orchids, and Other Poems
by George Sterling
About the author
Born in Sag Harbor, New York, in 1869, George Sterling later made his name in California, where he became known as a poet, playwright, and leading voice of West Coast bohemian culture. He was especially associated with San Francisco and Carmel-by-the-Sea, and his circle included major literary figures such as Jack London and Ambrose Bierce.
Sterling published several poetry collections, including The Testimony of the Suns, A Wine of Wizardry and Other Poems, Beyond the Breakers and Other Poems, and Selected Poems. During his lifetime he was celebrated for lush, imaginative language and for writing that often reached toward myth, nature, and the cosmic.
Though his national reputation faded after his death in 1926, Sterling remains an important figure in the story of California literature. He is remembered not only for his poems and plays, but also for the artistic world he helped build around him.