author
Richard Henry Stoddard
1825–1903
A self-taught poet, critic, and editor, he rose from foundry work in New York to become a familiar figure in 19th-century American literary life. His verse won a wide readership in its day, and he was especially known in New York circles for his criticism and friendships with other writers.
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About the author
Born in Hingham, Massachusetts, on July 2, 1825, Richard Henry Stoddard moved to New York as a boy after his father's death at sea. He worked with his hands before making his name in letters, spending time as a blacksmith and iron moulder while reading poetry on his own and shaping himself into a writer.
Stoddard became known as a poet, critic, and editor, and was an active presence in New York's literary world in the second half of the 19th century. He also held a post at the New York Custom House for many years. During his lifetime he was admired as a lyric poet, and works such as Songs of Summer, The Book of the East, and Abraham Lincoln: An Horatian Ode helped build his reputation.
He died in New York on May 12, 1903. Today he is often remembered not only for his own poems but also for the place he held in the literary culture of his era, where he connected journalism, criticism, and poetry in a way that made him an important figure among American writers of his generation.