William Cullen Bryant: Author of America

This is a biography of one of nineteenth-century America's foremost poets and public intellectuals.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. America's First Poet 2. Pedlar of Law and Poetry 3. The Delectable City of Gotham 4. Apprentice Editor 5. Jackson Democrat 6. Yankee Brawls 7. My Native Country 8. Leggett's Legacy 9. Politics and Poetry 10. Among the First in the World 11. Kindred Spirits 12. Old Temples and Tombs 13. Tumults of the Noisy World 14. Lincoln 15. Days of Slaughter 16. Like One Shut Out of Paradise 17. A Century's Space Source Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Gilbert H. Muller is Professor Emeritus of English at the City University of New York. He is the author of Nightmares and Visions: Flannery O'Connor and the Catholic Grotesque and New Strangers in Paradise: The Immigrant Experience and Contemporary American Fiction, and has also written critical biographies of the African American writers Chester Himes and John A. Williams. He lives in Port Washington, New York-close to William Cullen Bryant's estate, Cedarmere.

Review :
"The first full-length biography of William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) to appear in decades, Gilbert H. Muller's worthwhile volume is overdue ... Muller's thoroughly researched and engaging biography represents an important contribution to the histories of American literature and journalism. If it impels readers to revisit Bryant's poems with renewed appreciation, then Muller will presumably have achieved one of his major aims." - Resources for American Literary Study "...Muller's excellent study ... provides a much needed look at the afterimage of an influential American journalist, editor, and translator." - Sewanee Review "...Bryant (1794-1878) receives a rousing reconsideration in this engaging biography, which serves as a lucid introduction to the literary and political phenomena of his era ... this exemplary biography is indispensable for those interested in US literature and culture in the 19th century." - CHOICE "...much of the book is engaging and informative ... Muller is to be commended for trying to bring Bryant back into public consciousness." - Journalism History "...captivating ... richly researched and readable..." - The Wall Street Journal "...Muller splendidly chronicles the nineteenth century, narrates a vivid New York story, and offers a compelling portrait of an American genius. The man whom James Fenimore Cooper called 'the Author of America' deserves no less." - ForeWord Magazine "Muller's absorbing, frequently astonishing biography forcefully reaffirms Bryant's place in the pantheon of great Americans." - Booklist "What a remarkable life, and what a remarkable book! William Cullen Bryant's life stretched from the beginnings of the Republic to the late nineteenth century, and, along the way, he helped shape how we think about our nation and ourselves. His influence is with us still, in his poetry, his journalism, and his abiding faith in the American spirit. Gilbert Muller reminds us of a time when language and words mattered, when a poet and newspaper editor wielded real power and influence. In doing so, Muller introduces us to Bryant's extraordinary friends and admirers: James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Catharine Sedgewick, Charles Dickens, and many others. This book is a wonderful work of history and biography." - Terry Golway, author of Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution