Early American Literature discussion
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Early American Authors Quiz Game
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As a young man, this important late 19th-century American poet served in the Confederate army, was captured, and while in prison contracted the tuberculosis that chronically plagued him for the rest of his short life (he died at the age of 39). Besides being a poet, he was an accomplished flutist, and played the flute in Baltimore's famous Peabody Orchestra. Who was he?
The Civil War plus music! Some of my favorite subjects!😉
I can't figure this one out.🤔 I'm not much of a poetry fan, so I don't have many books related to the subject. I do have many books about the Confederacy. Maybe the answer can be found in one of those volumes. Until then, I am stumpified!🤨😏😮🤪😁😂🤣😆
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I'll add a bit more information: he was born in Georgia, and taught literature at Johns Hopkins Univ. in Baltimore. Also, he was one of the few American poets of that era who developed a serious theory of poetry (he believed it was closely related to music).
Werner wrote: "Hmmm! While I thought my previous question (which got answered pretty quickly!) might be too hard, I was worried that this one might be too easy. I guess that's not proving to be a problem! :-)I'..."
I'm stumpified, too...
I'm still searching, but cannot find an answer. I am completely baffled.🤪 Also, frequently when I try to post my comments they don't show up on the thread. Not just here, but in some of my other groups, too. Very strange.🤨
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I haven't encountered that problem (so far) Pamela, but I'd say you should report it to Goodreads' technical support. You can contact them here: https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta... .
Re the question, I don't usually name particular works by a writer, because they're too easy to Google, or to look up in the Goodreads database; and then the person answering would just be whoever can type the fastest into a search box. :-( But knowing that we have a good group of folks here who don't cheat, and since this question is proving such a stumper, I'll add one more hint: one of his best-known works is the long poem "the Marshes of Glynn."
Werner wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Also, frequently when I try to post my comments they don't show up on the thread. Not just here, but in some of my other groups, too. Very strange.🤨"I haven't encountered that prob..."
My favorite author, Eugenia Price, mentioned "The Marshes of Glynn" in a few of her nonfiction books. She moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia in the 1960's. I looked through my Eugenia Price collection, found the poem, thus discovering the author's name. My answer is Sidney Lanier. Without your last hint, I would not have known the answer, Werner, or at least where to look for the answer. Great, "stumpifying" question!👏😁😂😄👍
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Werner wrote: "Pamela, that's the right answer! And you tracked it down the right way, via a paper book --as my Aussie kinfolks would say, "Good on ya!" :-) Glad you found the question a good challenge; and you g..."I only read paper books, or "real" books, as I like to call them. I have e-book options on my tablet, but never use them. I can't seem to enjoy reading on an electronic device. I have to hold a book, turn the pages and smell the print. I suppose the one good thing about ebooks is that a person doesn't have packed bookcases in every room, books on the floor in front of the bookcases, books on tables, and just about every other flat surface in the house! On second thought, I love my book clutter! I'd be lost without it! "A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life" is my motto!😁 I also think the cat hair "boots" on all of my kitchen chair legs adds to my decor! LOL!!!😂🤣😆😉😊 (Why does cat hair always accumulate on chair legs anyway?)💖🐱🐈💞
Uh-oh. Someone just ran their car into a utility pole nearby. My power keeps going off and on, so I'm shutting down now to save battery power in case I end up in the dark. I'll post a question tomorrow.👋
Pamela wrote: "I only read paper books, or "real" books, as I like to call them. I have e-book options on my tablet, but never use them. I can't seem to enjoy reading on an electronic device. I have to hold a book, turn the pages and smell the print. I suppose the one good thing about ebooks is that a person doesn't have packed bookcases in every room, books on the floor in front of the bookcases, books on tables, and just about every other flat surface in the house! On second thought, I love my book clutter! I'd be lost without it! "A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life" is my motto!😁 I also think the cat hair "boots" on all of my kitchen chair legs adds to my decor! LOL!!!😂🤣😆😉😊 (Why does cat hair always accumulate on chair legs anyway?)💖🐱🐈💞"
I would say the reason for the cat hair on the chair legs is most likely from them rubbing against them like they do. Aren't they the best? We have one who thinks my father's dog is hers!
Pamela wrote: "Uh-oh. Someone just ran their car into a utility pole nearby. My power keeps going off and on, so I'm shutting down now to save battery power in case I end up in the dark. I'll post a question tomo..."Oh no! Hope everyone's all right! 🤗
Here's the next quiz question...This very famous author was a descendent of the Delano family, the ancestral family of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The author's most famous books were written for elementary school-age children and have been continuously in print since their publication.
Name the author.
FYI...I am currently without phone service and I may lose my internet connection. Apparently, there is a widespread outage involving my carrier. Not sure when things will be restored. In any case, if I'm offline for the day, or longer, that's what is happening.🙄🤪
All of my connections have been restored. Finally. It was not repaired until 10:00 pm. Down all day! Have a good evening, all!
Pamela wrote: "All of my connections have been restored. Finally. It was not repaired until 10:00 pm. Down all day! Have a good evening, all!"Glad to hear that you are able to be on again!
Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "All of my connections have been restored. Finally. It was not repaired until 10:00 pm. Down all day! Have a good evening, all!"Glad to hear that you are able to be on again!"
Some other residents in outlying areas have been told their service won't be restored until August 25th! 😳 Gotta love modern technology!😋🙃
Since I got way laid with connection issues after I posted my quiz question, here it is again...Here's the next quiz question...
This very famous author was a descendent of the Delano family, the ancestral family of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The author's most famous books were written for elementary school-age children and have been continuously in print since their publication.
Name the author.
More hints about the quiz question...The author grew up in a family that moved frequently from one part of the American frontier to another. Her father took the family by covered wagon to Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Dakota Territory. At age 15 she began teaching in rural schools. In 1885 she married and she lived from 1894 on a farm near Mansfield, Missouri. Some years later she began writing for various periodicals. She contributed to McCall’s Magazine and Country Gentleman, served as poultry editor for the St. Louis Star, and for 12 years was home editor of the Missouri Ruralist.
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Pamela wrote: "More hints about the quiz question...The author grew up in a family that moved frequently from one part of the American frontier to another. Her father took the family by covered wagon to Minneso..."
Ok, you gave it to me! LOL! I had been thinking possibly it was her, but I just felt like I was wrong...so...Laura Ingalls Wilder is my guess.
Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "More hints about the quiz question...The author grew up in a family that moved frequently from one part of the American frontier to another. Her father took the family by covered w..."
You are correct, Dorothy! It is Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura's daughter, Rose, had a hand in editing the books and having them published.
You get the next question, Dorothy!
🤗👏🤝👍💐🌻🍰🍬🍭🍨🤸♀️🤹♀️🎖🏆🏅🥇🎈🎉🎊🎆🎶😊
I'm still not getting any notifications of new posts, comments, etc.Not sure what's up with that. I did get another " give-away" notice about a cookbook, though.😏😦
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Same here! :-(
We've all noticed that not as many people post on this thread as formerly. It occurred to me to wonder if that's because I put it in the Challenges folder, which appears fairly far down on the home page, and doesn't show there unless the person viewing it scrolls down a ways. I'm going to move it so that it shows more prominently, and we'll see whether that makes a difference!
Werner wrote: "Pamela wrote: "I'm still not getting any notifications of new posts, comments, etc."Same here! :-(
We've all noticed that not as many people post on this thread as formerly. It occurred to me to..."
👍👍💡 Good idea, Werner!🙂
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Werner wrote: "Dorothy, do you want to post a question (since you answered the previous one)?"Oh dear, I keep forgetting! I'll try to get to it this evening or tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder!
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This early American author wrote a book, which, surprisingly, arose after he, a non-Christian, and Col. Robert Ingersoll, a confirmed agnostic, had a discussion about Christianity on a train, and the author determined to look into Christianity more closely, with a view to writing about the history of Christianity and the life of Jesus Christ. Thus the book arose out of his ignorance of Christianity. In the 1925 film version, one stuntman died. Name the author and the book.
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Werner wrote: "The author was Lew Wallace, and the book was Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. (I read the book in 2017 as a common read in the Christian Goodreaders group.)"You are correct, Werner! I am currently reading it for the second time (nearing the end, after a few months of slowly reading it.) I hope to finish tomorrow.
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Werner wrote: "Hope you like it as much as I did, Dorothy! I'll plan to post a new question in the next few days."I do enjoy it very much...sometimes the descriptions can get a bit wordy and I just end up skimming those parts because my imagination just isn't up to the task of picturing what he's telling...but the story is great. I just finished the chapter "Serpent of the Nile."
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Clement C. Moore. "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (a.k.a. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas). Clement's father was Benjamin Moore, who delivered Communion to a dying Alexander Hamilton following his duel with Aaron Burr. Benjamin Moore at first refused to administer Communion to Hamilton, but was finally persuaded to do so after Hamilton vowed he was remorseful about the duel.
There is actually some controversy involving "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and the authorship of the poem. There are those who believe that Major Henry Livingston, Jr. actually penned the poem.
That's what I know about that, which is of interest because of my dislike of Santa Claus. "Know thy enemy," as they say!🚫🎅😆😉😊
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Pamela wrote: "There is actually some controversy involving "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and the authorship of the poem. There are those who believe that Major Henry Livingston, Jr. actually penned the poem."
The Wikipedia article on Moore summarizes the dispute, here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement... . I personally believe that Moore really is the author.
I completely agree, Werner. I believe that Clement C. Moore wrote the poem.Also of interest is something I learned years ago about Benjamin Moore. My late father was a carpenter and would only use Benjamin Moore paint. He especially liked the company's colonial colors and used much of them in our homes. Years ago, I was curious if the paint company took it's name from Clement Moore's father, Benjamin. I looked into it and found that the Benjamin Moore paint company was in no way connected to THE Benjamin Moore, Clement's father. Just a bit of curious trivia.🙂
I have the next quiz question ready...Born in Newark, New Jersey, this author is best known for writing a Civil War novel, although he also wrote poetry and short stories. He wrote the Civil War novel which he became famous for without having any firsthand knowledge of the war. The author is said to have influenced Ernest Hemingway. The author had a short life and died at the age of 28.
Name the author and the title of his most well known novel.
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Pamela wrote: "I have the next quiz question ready...Born in Newark, New Jersey, this author is best known for writing a Civil War novel, although he also wrote poetry and short stories. He wrote the Civil War ..."
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane?
Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "I have the next quiz question ready...Born in Newark, New Jersey, this author is best known for writing a Civil War novel, although he also wrote poetry and short stories. He wrote..."
Good job, Dorothy! You are correct! You get the next question!
🤹♀️🎆🤸♀️👍💃👑🤝💐🎂🍨🏆🎈🥇🎉🏅🎊🌞🥁🎶😊🤩😁👏
Pamela wrote: "Good job, Dorothy! You are correct! You get the next question!🤹♀️🎆🤸♀️👍💃👑🤝💐🎂🍨🏆🎈🥇🎉🏅🎊🌞🥁🎶😊🤩😁👏"
😳 Wow, that was just a wild guess! Thank you, Pammy!
Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Good job, Dorothy! You are correct! You get the next question!🤹♀️🎆🤸♀️👍💃👑🤝💐🎂🍨🏆🎈🥇🎉🏅🎊🌞🥁🎶😊🤩😁👏"
😳 Wow, that was just a wild guess! Thank you, Pammy!"
Well, you are excellent at "guessing," Dorothy!👍🤗
Pamela wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Good job, Dorothy! You are correct! You get the next question!🤹♀️🎆🤸♀️👍💃👑🤝💐🎂🍨🏆🎈🥇🎉🏅🎊🌞🥁🎶😊🤩😁👏"
😳 Wow, that was just a wild guess! Thank you, Pammy!"
Well, you are e..."
Only sometimes...😁
Werner wrote: "Whenever you finish it, Dorothy, I'll be interested in your review! If you want to, you can link to it in this thread I just started, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ."Done!
Three confirmed tornadoes in my area again last night.😳🌀🌪🌧🌩The weather is so extreme lately. Praying everyone in our group came through Hurricane Fred without damage. 🙏
Early American Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (other topics)Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (other topics)
Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction (other topics)
The HarperCollins Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature (other topics)
Emily and Carlo (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lafcadio Hearn (other topics)George MacDonald (other topics)
Elizabeth Goudge (other topics)
Washington Irving (other topics)
Washington Irving (other topics)
More...
You are correct, Werner! It was Louisa May Alcott! You get the next question.🙂"
Agh, ..."
It seemed to be ringing a bell, but I couldn't figure out why. Must be this summer heat! My brains are fried!