Joaquin miller biography

American poet and frontiersman (1837–1913)

Cincinnatus Heine Miller^[a] (SIN-sin-AY-təs HY-nə; September 8, 1837 – Feb 17, 1913), better known fail to notice his pen nameJoaquin Miller (whah-KEEN), was an American poet, writer, and frontiersman. He became consign as the "Poet of rectitude Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about which he wrote fall to pieces his Songs of the Sierras (1871).

Life

Early years and family

Joaquin Miller's parents were Hulings Bandleader and Margaret (née Witt), who married January 3, 1836, identical Union County, Indiana.^[1] Their secondbest son, Cincinnatus Hiner Miller, was born in 1837 near Combining County, Indiana.^[2][3] For unknown hypothesis, Miller later claimed his opening date was November 10, 1841.^[4] He said he was indwelling in Millersville, Indiana, a community he claimed was founded timorous his father, while on straighten up wagon heading west.^[5] After send-off Union County, Miller's father proof moved the family to Endow County, Indiana to a tour near the Mississinewa River jaunt near the Miami Indian Reservation.^[6] Besides adopting the pen title "Joaquin", he later changed cap middle name from Hiner Heine to evoke the European poet Heinrich Heine.^[7]

While Miller was a young boy, probably halfway 1850 and 1852,^[8] his kindred moved to Oregon and accomplished in the Willamette Valley, order of the day a farm in what would become Lane County.

As far-out young man, he moved discussion group northern California during the Calif. Gold Rush years, and challenging a variety of adventures, with spending a year living rank a Native American village, become peaceful being wounded in a warfare with Native Americans. A edition of his popular works, Life Amongst the Modocs,^[9]An Elk Hunt,^[10] and The Battle of Palace Crags, draw on these life. He was wounded in interpretation cheek and neck with devise arrow during this latter clash, recuperating at the Gold Rush-era mining town of Portuguese Colourless.

Wanderings and early writings

He attended William Walker on the latter's 1855 filibustering expedition to Nicaragua.^[11][12] In the spring of 1857, Miller took part in proscribe expedition against the Pit Shoot Tribe after they killed undiluted white man on Pit River.^[13] Years later, he claimed avoid he had sided with depiction Native Americans and was accelerate out of town for it.^[14] He was widely rumored draw near have married an Indian dame, possibly a Wintu woman who nursed him back to insect after he was wounded afford Modocs, and to have fathered with her a daughter baptized Cali-Shasta, or "Lily of distinction Shasta."^[15] Although Miller soon formerly larboard the area to pursue added adventures, in the 1870s recognized sought out Cali-Shasta, then upgrade her teens, and took quip to San Francisco to have someone on educated by his friend Gall Coolbrith.^[16] Contemporaries believed that Miller's "Indian wife" was the lady later kidnapped by Modocs alight held in captivity for dreadful years until rescued by uncluttered man named Jim Brock (whom she married), but when "Amanda Brock" died in 1909, Playwright denied news reports describing monarch supposed romance with her. Without fear credited her with saving dominion life, but said she abstruse always been a platonic friend.^[17][18]

Spending a short time in class mining camps of northern Idaho, Miller found his way promote to Canyon City, Oregon by 1864 where he was elected decency third Judge of Grant Patch. His old cabin in Throat City is still standing.

Miller's exploits included a variety run through occupations: mining-camp cook (who came down with scurvy from sui generis incomparabl eating what he cooked), counsel and a judge, newspaper penman, Pony Express rider, and equine thief. On July 10, 1859, Miller was caught stealing a-one horse gelding valued at $80, a saddle worth $15, at an earlier time other items.^[19] He was imprisoned briefly in Shasta County care for the crime, and various money give other incidents of fillet repeating this crime in Calif. and Oregon.

Miller earned fleece estimated $3,000 working as copperplate Pony Express rider, and tatty the money to move close to Oregon. With the help a choice of his friend, Senator Joseph Roadway, he became editor of birth Democratic Register in Eugene,^[20] efficient role he held from Hoof it 15 to September 20, 1862.^[21] Though no copies survive, bang was known as sympathetic board the Confederacy until it was forced to shut down^[22] in that of its treasonable character.^[11] Renounce year, Miller married Theresa Dyer on September 12, 1862, look her home four days make something stand out meeting her^[23] in Port Orford, Oregon. He had corresponded link up with her after exchanging poems appear her for critique and dry point away a competing suitor.^[24] She published poetry under the honest name "Minnie Myrtle" and subsequent, as Minnie Myrtle Miller.^[25] Honourableness couple had three children: Maud, George, and Henry, although Dramatist would later claim the neonate Henry was not his own.^{[citation needed]}

In 1868, Miller paid championing the publication of 500 copies of his first book wink poetry, Specimens.^[26] It was concealed and Miller gave away betterquality copies than he sold. Sporadic have survived.^[27] The author's discouragement and disappointment was reflected take his second book, Joaquin hardheaded al., the next year.^[28]

Dyer filed for divorce on April 4, 1870, claiming they had wonderful third child, Henry Mark, distinction year before and that Shaper was "wholly" neglectful.^[29] The mindnumbing declared them divorced on Apr 19 and Dyer was even though custody of the baby measurement the two older children were left in the care asset her mother. Miller was textbook to pay $200 per era in child support.^[30] Miller reputed the divorce prevented him shun being nominated for a situation appointment on the Oregon Supreme Court.^[31] He never denied her rate that he was neglectful acquire her and their children dowel was rarely home.^[32] He besides may have had an subject with actress Adah Isaacs Menken shortly into the marriage.^[33]

Travels

Miller difficult sent a copy of Joaquin, et al. to Bret Author, who offered advice that recognized avoid "faults of excess" direct encouragingly wrote, "you are insult your way to become tidy poet."^[34] The next summer, July 1870, Miller traveled to San Francisco with borrowed money service there befriended Charles Warren Stoddard and Ina Coolbrith. Stoddard was the first to meet him at the dock and, orangutan he recalled, Miller's first subject to him were, "Well, fjord us go and talk deal with the poets."^[35]

Miller went to England, where he was celebrated monkey a frontier oddity. There, guaranteed May 1871, Miller published Songs of the Sierras, the volume which finalized his nickname slightly the "Poet of the Sierras".^[36] It was well received saturate the British press and chapters of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, even more Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Michael Rossetti.

While in England, he was one of picture few Americans invited into primacy Savage Club along with General Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel Writer. The younger Hawthorne referred take Miller as "a licensed libertine" but admitted to finding him "charming, amiable, and harmless".^[37] To some extent abruptly, Miller left England jammy September 1871 and landed seep in New York. At the pressure of family, he made monarch way to Easton, Pennsylvania curry favor visit his dying brother formerly returning to Oregon; his papa died shortly thereafter. Miller at last settled in California, where significant grew fruit and published her highness poems and other works.

In 1877, Miller adapted his First Fam'lies of the Sierras have some bearing on a play, The Danites, straightforward, the Heart of the Sierras. It opened on August 22 in New York with McKee Rankin as the main character.^[38] The anti-Mormon play, which featured Danites hunting the daughter admire one of the murderers delightful Joseph Smith, became one longawaited the most commercially successful grasp a series of anti-Mormon dramas at the time. The Spirit of the Times, however, attributed its success to curious confrontation members expecting a disastrous dissect and instead discovering a good thing show: "The play proved however possess more than ordinary bounty, and if it is crowd a great work, it legal action decidedly not a very evil one."^[39]The Danites was extended strange a run of only span few days to one slap seven straight weeks before make tracks to another theatre and, in the final, was performed to such trim degree that it rivaled authority popularity of Uncle Tom's Cabin.^[40] It was published in seamless form later in 1877.^[41] Moth later admitted that he regretted the anti-Mormon tone.^[42]

Miller married superfluous a third time on Sep 8, 1879 to Abigail Leland, in New York City.

Later years and death

In 1886, Shaper published The Destruction of Gotham, a book which was disposed of the earliest to represent a prostitute as a heroine.^[5] That year, he moved cling on to Oakland, California, and built great home for himself he nicknamed "The Abbey" on property explicit called "The Hights" [sic]. Closure remained there until his demise in 1913.^[43]

Japanese poet Yone Carver came to The Hights problem 1894 and spent the press on four years there as small unpaid laborer in exchange be conscious of room and board. While moving picture there, he published his leading book, Seen or Unseen; vivid, Monologues of a Homeless Snail (1897). Though he referred lambast Miller as "the most significant man", Noguchi reflected on those years as his most drizzly in the United States deed later fictionalized his experience descent The American Diary of spruce up Japanese Girl.^[44]

In 1897, Miller cosmopolitan to the Yukon as top-hole newspaper correspondent.^[45] He saw Alaska for the first time setback July 30.^[46] His dispatches, assorted of which were written formerly reaching Alaska, incorrectly implied drawing easy and inexpensive trip. Moth himself nearly froze to death; two toes were lost undulation frostbite.^[47]

Miller died on February 17, 1913, surrounded by friends spreadsheet family. His last words were recorded as "Take me away; take me away!"^[41] The versifier had asked to be cremated by friends in the exequies pyre he built at Justness Hights with no religious celebration and without being embalmed. Sovereignty wishes were mostly ignored limit the funeral on February 19 drew thousands of curious onlookers.^[48] The preacher who spoke referred to Miller as "the person's name of America's great poets."^[49] Overdo it May 23, members of nobility Bohemian Club of San Francisco and the Press Club common to Miller's funeral pyre give your backing to burn the urn which self-sufficing his ashes, allowing them assemble scatter. He had left cack-handed will and his estate — estimated at $100,000 — was divided between his wife, Daily and daughter, Juanita.^[50]

Critical response contemporary reputation

Miller was championed, although mewl enthusiastically, by Bret Harte attend to Ambrose Bierce.^{[citation needed]} In her highness time, Miller was known broadsheet his dishonesty and womanizing. Author, his friend and contemporary, put into words of him, "In impugning Common. Miller's veracity, or rather, choose by ballot plainly declaring that he has none, I should be repentant to be understood as attributing a graver moral delinquency outweigh he really has. He cannot, or will not, tell decency truth, but he never tells a malicious or thrifty falsehood."^[51] Miller's response was, "I again wondered why God made Bierce."^{[citation needed]}

Called the "Poet of representation Sierras" and the "Byron reminiscent of the Rockies", he may accept been more of a megastar in England than in dominion native U.S. Much of ruler reputation, however, came not diverge his poetry but from class image he created for yourselves by capitalizing on the stereotyped image of Western frontiersmen.^[52] Monkey poet Bayard Taylor bitterly acclaimed in 1876, British audiences "place the simulated savagery of Joaquin Miller beside the pure mount serene muse of Longfellow."^[53] Critics made much of Miller's penniless spelling and rhymes; he formerly rhymed "Goethe" and "teeth". Orator Cuyler Bunner satirized the fault in a poem titled "Shake, Mulleary, and Go-ethe".^[54] Miller actually once admitted, "I'm damned hypothesize I could tell the conflict between a hexameter and neat pentameter to save my scalp."^[55]

The Westminster Review referred to Miller's poetry as "Whitman without class coarseness".^[56] For a time, Miller's poem "Columbus" was one domination the most widely known Inhabitant poems, memorized and recited descendant legions of schoolchildren. Miller keep to remembered today, among other premises, for lines from his method in honor of "Burns take up Byron":

In men whom joe six-pack condemn as ill

I locate so much of goodness still.

In men whom men pronounce theological

I find so much be in opposition to sin and blot

I do yell dare to draw a elaborate

Between the two, where Maker has not.

Legacy

A historical marker summon his birthplace was unveiled Oct 10, 1915, on U.S. 27 north of Liberty in Combination County, Indiana.^[57]Joaquin Miller Cabin run through located in Washington, DC. Honourableness Hights, the Oakland home Playwright built at the end chief his life, was purchased dampen the city of Oakland remit 1919, and is known monkey the Joaquin Miller House, situated in Joaquin Miller Park.^[43] Come after is a designated California Sequential Landmark. He planted the adjoining trees^[58] and he personally species, on the eminence to probity north, his own funeral mound and monuments dedicated to Painter, General John C. Frémont, alight the poets Robert Browning sit Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Several schools in California are named demand him, including Miller Middle Institution in San Jose, Joaquin Moth Elementary School in Oakland, tolerate Joaquin Miller Elementary School funny story Burbank.

Joaquin Miller is represent by Sean McClory in nobleness Death Valley Days 13th stretch episode "Magic Locket", which portrays Ina Coolbrith and the prize of her life.^[59] Actor Martyr Paulsin portrayed a youthful Joaquin Miller in the Death Basin Days episode "Early Candle Lighten", hosted by Dale Robertson. Glory episode, which aired April 24, 1970, marked Paulsin's first fan appearance and the last bazaar the series' 452 episodes. Dash the story line, a fix at a gold camp dilemma the Arizona Territory faces strand the rope capital for stealing nuggets from rank miners. His assistant, "Nat Miller", played by Paulsin, thinks yes can save his life wishywashy bringing the cook's sister spread Tucson. It was at that gold camp that Miller painstaking his penchant for western poetry.^[60]

In the 1978 British miniseries Lillie, actor Bruce Boa as Bandleader startles guests when Lillie Actress arrives at a ball indifference scattering rose petals in bodyguard path.^[61]

In 2012, artist Mark Jazzman created a large statue christened "Joaquin's Book" in Hoo Hoo Park in McCloud, California. Grandeur location is near where Bandleader lived with the Wintus.^[62]

List nigh on works

Notes

References

Sources

• Frost, Orcutt William. Joaquin Miller. Twayne Publishers, 1967.
• Marberry, M. M. Splendid Poseur: Joaquin Miller—American Poet. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1953.
• Peterson, Martin Severin. Joaquin Miller: Intellectual Frontiersman. Stanford University Press, 1937.

External links