Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929)
Author of America the Beautiful scholastic
About the Author
Image credit: Photographic portrait of Katharine Lee Bates, author of "America the Beautiful". Image believed to be in Public Domain. By RL - Find a Grave [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5649414
Works by Katharine Lee Bates
America the Beautiful: A Song to Celebrate the Wonders of America (Patriotic Songs) (2003) — Author — 14 copies
Coleridge's The Ancient Mariner: Lowell's The Vision of Sir Launfal; Burn's The Cotter's Saturday Night (The Studen (1917) — Editor — 8 copies
Tennyson's The Princess 1 copy
The Sleeping Beauty 1 copy
In Sunny Spain 1 copy
America My Country 1 copy
Norse stories 1 copy
As You Like It 1 copy
Associated Works
Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the 17th Century to the Present (1994) — Contributor — 482 copies, 1 review
Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985) — Contributor — 319 copies, 3 reviews
Poems Between Women: Four Centuries of Love, Romantic Friendship, and Desire (1997) — Contributor — 97 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1859-08-12
- Date of death
- 1929-03-28
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Wellesley College
- Occupations
- poet
teacher
lyricist
travel writer
children's book author - Organizations
- Wellesley College
- Short biography
- Katharine Lee Bates was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, the daughter of a minister and a schoolteacher. She attended Wellesley College, where she studied English and Greek, explored her interest in poetry, and published one of her poems in The Atlantic Monthly. After graduating in 1880, she spent several years working as a teacher. She then returned to Wellesley College and joined the faculty as an English instructor. She became a well-known scholar of English literature, especially the works of William Shakespeare, and authored several books, including The English Religious Drama (1893). She also wrote about her European travels in such works as Spanish Highways and Byways (1900) and From Gretna Green to Land's End: A Literary Journey in England (1907). She published a few children's books, including little Robin Stay-Behind (1923). She served as the head of Wellesley's Department of English for many years. In 1893, her now-famous poem, "America the Beautiful," was published for the first time in The Congregationalist. After some revisions, it was included in her verse collection America the Beautiful and Other Poems in 1911. After further revisions, it became the lyrics to the patriotic ballad "America the Beautiful."
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
- Place of death
- Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Massachusetts, USA
Members
Reviews
Having worked hard all year to cultivate and create the many gifts given out by her husband every Christmas Eve, Goody Santa Claus—AKA "Goodwife" or "Mrs" Santa Claus—asks in this 1889 poem to be taken along on the annual reindeer ride, to see the end result of her many labors. In twenty-seven verses, the reader follows along as Goody Santa Claus describes the many chores she undertakes, joins the Christmas Eve mission, holds the reindeer while Santa is going down chimneys, argues in show more favor of an impoverished poet, and darns a little boy's stocking, so that Santa's gift doesn't fall through...
"Santa, must I tease in vain, Dear? Let me go and hold the reindeer,
While you clamber down the chimneys. Don't look savage as a Turk!
Why should you have all the glory of the joyous Christmas story,
And poor little Goody Santa Claus have nothing but the work?
It would be so very cozy, you and I, all round and rosy,
Looking like two loving snowballs in our fuzzy Arctic furs,
Tucked in warm and snug together, whisking through the winter weather
Where the tinkle of the sleigh-bells is the only sound that stirs."
Originally published by the Boston-based D. Lothrop Company in 1889, in an illustrated paperback pamphlet, complete with ribbon-binding, Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride was subsequently included in Katherine Lee Bates' 1890 collection, Sunshine and Other Verses for Children, and also in her 1916 Fairy Gold: Poems. Readers interested in the poem itself, can easily find it in these volumes, as well as on multiple sites online. The original published edition of the poem alone, together with the accompanying illustrations, is more difficult to track down, and doesn't appear to have been digitized on any of the major sites (Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, Google Books, etc). That being said, I did manage to track down scans of the original edition, on the poem's page on the Hymns and Carols of Christmas website, where it can be downloaded in ZIP format.
Having managed to obtain a copy in this way, I am happy to report that I found this publication charming, enjoying both the poem and the accompanying engraving-style artwork. Author Katherine Lee Bates, best known as the poet who penned America the Beautiful, made into a beloved national song here in the states, creates a feisty Mrs Claus in her Goody Santa Claus, one who is both affectionate and persuasive, and more than willing to press her case. Although not the original depiction of Santa Claus's wife, this poem does seem to have cemented her role as a partner to that holiday gift giver, and a major support to his mission. The poem here reads well, and is just full of fun. I'd love to see it republished, either as a facsimile of the original, or in picture book form with newly commissioned artwork (maybe both). Recommended to anyone interested in the Santa Claus story in general, and in Mrs. Claus in particular. For my part, I now intend to track down some more of Bates' poetry for children, particularly her Christmas poems. show less
"Santa, must I tease in vain, Dear? Let me go and hold the reindeer,
While you clamber down the chimneys. Don't look savage as a Turk!
Why should you have all the glory of the joyous Christmas story,
And poor little Goody Santa Claus have nothing but the work?
It would be so very cozy, you and I, all round and rosy,
Looking like two loving snowballs in our fuzzy Arctic furs,
Tucked in warm and snug together, whisking through the winter weather
Where the tinkle of the sleigh-bells is the only sound that stirs."
Originally published by the Boston-based D. Lothrop Company in 1889, in an illustrated paperback pamphlet, complete with ribbon-binding, Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride was subsequently included in Katherine Lee Bates' 1890 collection, Sunshine and Other Verses for Children, and also in her 1916 Fairy Gold: Poems. Readers interested in the poem itself, can easily find it in these volumes, as well as on multiple sites online. The original published edition of the poem alone, together with the accompanying illustrations, is more difficult to track down, and doesn't appear to have been digitized on any of the major sites (Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, Google Books, etc). That being said, I did manage to track down scans of the original edition, on the poem's page on the Hymns and Carols of Christmas website, where it can be downloaded in ZIP format.
Having managed to obtain a copy in this way, I am happy to report that I found this publication charming, enjoying both the poem and the accompanying engraving-style artwork. Author Katherine Lee Bates, best known as the poet who penned America the Beautiful, made into a beloved national song here in the states, creates a feisty Mrs Claus in her Goody Santa Claus, one who is both affectionate and persuasive, and more than willing to press her case. Although not the original depiction of Santa Claus's wife, this poem does seem to have cemented her role as a partner to that holiday gift giver, and a major support to his mission. The poem here reads well, and is just full of fun. I'd love to see it republished, either as a facsimile of the original, or in picture book form with newly commissioned artwork (maybe both). Recommended to anyone interested in the Santa Claus story in general, and in Mrs. Claus in particular. For my part, I now intend to track down some more of Bates' poetry for children, particularly her Christmas poems. show less
America the Beautiful, illustrated by Chris Gall.
Acting on the recommendation of a friend, I recently requested the picture-book presentation of this lovely American song, with accompanying artwork by Wendell Minor, from my local library, only to receive this edition with illustrations by Chris Gall instead. I'm glad the mishap occurred - although I will still be tracking down a copy of the Wendell Minor version - as this is really a lovely book, and a wonderful tribute to one of America's show more most well-known patriotic songs. Composed as a poem in 1893, and published two years later in the pages of The Congregationalist, a Boston-based church periodical, America the Beautiful is a celebration of the natural beauty of our nation, and of the moral beauty of its history of immigration and struggle for freedom. The words of the song - O beautiful for spacious skies, / For amber waves of grain, / For purple mountains majesties / Above the fruited plain!" - provided the text, and are paired with gorgeous hand engravings that have been digitized and presented in color.
I found it very interesting that the artist here, Chris Gall, was the great-great-grandnephew of poet Katharine Lee Bates, who composed these words, and that he grew up in a home with a heirloom copy of the poem, in Bates' own handwriting, framed on the wall. That hand-written copy provides the inspiration for the decorative endpapers here, while the color engravings, which are really just beautiful, capture the spirit of each verse (or piece of verse) in the piece. I appreciated many of the artistic choices that Gall made, and the diverse peoples and time periods - the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Tuskegee Airmen, the steamship immigrants of the later 19th and early 20th centuries, the firemen who raised the flag in the rubble after 9/11 - he included in his work. I grew up singing this song, and it was a pleasure to be reminded of it. Now I'll have to see how Wendell Minor's visual interpretation of these words matches up! show less
Acting on the recommendation of a friend, I recently requested the picture-book presentation of this lovely American song, with accompanying artwork by Wendell Minor, from my local library, only to receive this edition with illustrations by Chris Gall instead. I'm glad the mishap occurred - although I will still be tracking down a copy of the Wendell Minor version - as this is really a lovely book, and a wonderful tribute to one of America's show more most well-known patriotic songs. Composed as a poem in 1893, and published two years later in the pages of The Congregationalist, a Boston-based church periodical, America the Beautiful is a celebration of the natural beauty of our nation, and of the moral beauty of its history of immigration and struggle for freedom. The words of the song - O beautiful for spacious skies, / For amber waves of grain, / For purple mountains majesties / Above the fruited plain!" - provided the text, and are paired with gorgeous hand engravings that have been digitized and presented in color.
I found it very interesting that the artist here, Chris Gall, was the great-great-grandnephew of poet Katharine Lee Bates, who composed these words, and that he grew up in a home with a heirloom copy of the poem, in Bates' own handwriting, framed on the wall. That hand-written copy provides the inspiration for the decorative endpapers here, while the color engravings, which are really just beautiful, capture the spirit of each verse (or piece of verse) in the piece. I appreciated many of the artistic choices that Gall made, and the diverse peoples and time periods - the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Tuskegee Airmen, the steamship immigrants of the later 19th and early 20th centuries, the firemen who raised the flag in the rubble after 9/11 - he included in his work. I grew up singing this song, and it was a pleasure to be reminded of it. Now I'll have to see how Wendell Minor's visual interpretation of these words matches up! show less
"America the Beautiful: Together We Stand" is a picture book that illustrates the lyrics for the song "America the Beautiful". The illustrations are by different artists and are all stunning! My favorite illustration is the one by Bryan Collier. In the illustration, there is a young African American child with his hands held together and in the tree behind him there are faces of other African Americans. The amount of detail this work has made it extremely powerful! What I also loved about show more this book is how on each page there is a quote by different presidents. At the end of the book there is a list with descriptions of national landmarks and symbols in America. Also, there is a page with the lyrics all together, which would be fun to have children sing the song together in unison after reading the book. Overall, this is a wonderful book that not only teaches children the song "America the Beautiful", but also educates children about our nation. show less
America the Beautiful, illustrated by Wendell Minor.
Written in 1893, when Wellesley English professor Katharine Lee Bates was traveling in the western United States, and inspired by a number of the sites she visited - the World Fair in Chicago, the golden prairies of Kansas, the majestic Rockies - the poem America the Beautiful was eventually set to music (composed by Samuel A. Ward) in 1910, and has become one of the most popular patriotic songs in the United States. The text of the show more poem/song is presented here in this lovely picture-book tribute, with accompanying artwork by Wendell Minor, while an afterword gives further information about Bates, Ward, and the landmarks depicted in the illustrations.
Having enjoyed looking at Chris Gall's visual interpretation of America the Beautiful recently - I had intended to read this version done by Wendell Minor, but somehow accidentally ended up with that edition instead, when requesting it from my library - I was curious to see what I would make of another artist's vision of the same song. All in all, I was greatly impressed! I found Minor's paintings beautiful, and when paired with the little descriptions of each that were offered at the rear, informative as well. There is a light-filled quality to his landscapes that really makes them come alive on the page, while his choice of theme and location - geographically and temporally diverse - was quite pleasing. Highly recommended to anyone looking for the song America the Beautiful in picture-book form. show less
Written in 1893, when Wellesley English professor Katharine Lee Bates was traveling in the western United States, and inspired by a number of the sites she visited - the World Fair in Chicago, the golden prairies of Kansas, the majestic Rockies - the poem America the Beautiful was eventually set to music (composed by Samuel A. Ward) in 1910, and has become one of the most popular patriotic songs in the United States. The text of the show more poem/song is presented here in this lovely picture-book tribute, with accompanying artwork by Wendell Minor, while an afterword gives further information about Bates, Ward, and the landmarks depicted in the illustrations.
Having enjoyed looking at Chris Gall's visual interpretation of America the Beautiful recently - I had intended to read this version done by Wendell Minor, but somehow accidentally ended up with that edition instead, when requesting it from my library - I was curious to see what I would make of another artist's vision of the same song. All in all, I was greatly impressed! I found Minor's paintings beautiful, and when paired with the little descriptions of each that were offered at the rear, informative as well. There is a light-filled quality to his landscapes that really makes them come alive on the page, while his choice of theme and location - geographically and temporally diverse - was quite pleasing. Highly recommended to anyone looking for the song America the Beautiful in picture-book form. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 52
- Also by
- 15
- Members
- 2,483
- Popularity
- #10,329
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 20
- ISBNs
- 62
- Favorited
- 1