John G. Neihardt (1881-1973), Letters, 1912-1925 (C3074)
1 roll of microfilm
INTRODUCTION
Letters written by John G. Neihardt, author of A Cycle of the West and Black Elk Speaks, to California poet George Sterling, 1912-1925.
See also additional WHMC-C holdings: John G. Neihardt Papers, 1908-1974 (C3778) and John G. Neihardt Papers, c. 1858-1974 (C3716).
Visit WHMC-C's online exhibit: John G. Neihardt: Poet of the American West.
And, the John G. Neihardt Collection, Special Collections Division, University of Missouri-Columbia Libraries.
DONOR INFORMATION
The original John G. Neihardt Letters are held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. A microfilm copy was obtained by the University of Missouri on April 18, 1961 (Accession No. 3962).
RESTRICTIONS
Permission to reproduce or quote from this collection must be obtained from the Huntington Library, and for literary rights and publication matters contact the Neihardt Trust. Please contact the WHMC-C reference staff for the addresses.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
John Gneisenau Neihardt was born near Sharpsburg, Illinois, on 8 January 1881, the third child of Nicholas Nathan Neihardt and Alice Culler Neihardt. In 1886 the family moved to a sod house in northwestern Kansas, moving from there to Kansas City in 1888. In 1891 he moved with his mother and sisters to Wayne, Nebraska, where he attended the Nebraska Normal College (now Wayne State College), graduating with a bachelor of science degree at age 16. His first book, The Divine Enchantment, was finished at the age of 16 and published.
After teaching at a country school for two terms, he moved to Bancroft, Nebraska, where he worked with an Indian trader among the Omaha Indians. Later he edited a country weekly, the Bancroft Blade, for several years. After that he devoted his time to writing fiction and lyric verse with rapidly increasing national success.
In 1912, at the age of 31, Neihardt began writing his major work, A Cycle of the West, to which he devoted eighteen years. He was made poet laureate of Nebraska by legislative enactment in 1921. He was literary editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1926 to 1938, worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1942 to 1945, and served as lecturer in English and poet in residence at the University of Missouri from 1949 to 1965.
Neihardt was married in 1908 to Mona Martinsen, sculptor and a student of Rodin, the daughter of Rudolph Vincent and Ada Martinsen. The Neihardts had four children: Enid, Sigurd, Hilda, and Alice.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
In approximately 50 letters written to California poet George Sterling during the period 1912-1925, John G. Neihardt discusses his writing projects, including work on portions of A Cycle of the West, comments on and praises Sterling's work, and relates aspects of his personal philosophy.
INDEX TERMS
These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.
- Curly, Crow Indian
- Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973)
- Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of Hugh Glass
- Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of Three Friends
- Sterling, George (1869-1926)