George Sterling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Sterling
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Sterling shortly before his death in 1926
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| Born | George Ansel Sterling III December 1, 1869 Sag Harbor, Suffolk County, New York City U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 1926 (aged 56) San Francisco, California U.S. |
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George Sterling (born December 1, 1869 – died November 17, 1926) was an American writer. He lived mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He was a well-known poet and playwright. Many famous writers, like Jack London and Upton Sinclair, admired his work. Sterling was also a big supporter of a lifestyle called Bohemianism. This was a way of life where people, especially artists, lived freely and unconventionally.
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George Sterling's Life and Work
Sterling was born in Sag Harbor, New York. He was the oldest of nine children. His father wanted one of his sons to become a priest, so George went to St. Charles College, Maryland for three years. There, he learned English from a poet named John B. Tabb.
In 1890, Sterling moved to California to join his uncle, Frank C. Havens. His uncle was a successful lawyer and real estate developer in San Francisco. George worked as a real estate broker in Oakland, California. In 1903, he published a book of poems called The Testimony of the Sun and Other Poems. This book quickly made him popular among writers and artists in the East Bay area.
In 1905, Sterling moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. This was a beautiful coastal area that was not very developed yet. He helped create a community there for other writers and artists who shared his free-spirited ideas. His aunt even bought him a home in Carmel Woods. Many creative people, including the artist Charles Rollo Peters and poet Robinson Jeffers, were part of this group.
Sterling helped make Carmel famous around the world. Famous people like the writer Ambrose Bierce and photographer Arnold Genthe visited or lived there. When Sterling's poem A Wine of Wizardry was published in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1907, it caused some debate. This brought even more creative people to Carmel, including Upton Sinclair.
Sterling was also involved in the local community. He often volunteered at Carmel's Forest Theatre. He even played a main role in a play called The Fire. His friend, the writer Jack London, included characters based on Sterling in his novels Martin Eden (1909) and The Valley of the Moon (1913).
A historian named Kevin Starr once wrote that Sterling was like the "uncrowned King of Bohemia." He was at the center of the art scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even though he is not as well-known today, during his time, people thought he was as great as famous poets from the past.
Joseph Noel, another writer, said that Sterling's poem, A Wine of Wizardry, was considered by many to be one of the greatest poems ever written by an American. Even the very critical writer Ambrose Bierce praised it. Bierce said, "It takes the breath away."
Sterling was a member of the Bohemian Club. He acted in their plays each summer at the Bohemian Grove. In 1907, he wrote a play for the club called The Triumph of Bohemia. This play showed a battle between the "Spirit of Bohemia" and money for the souls of the forest workers.
Bierce helped Sterling get his poem A Wine of Wizardry published in Cosmopolitan in 1907. This helped Sterling gain national attention. Bierce wrote that the magazine would not likely do anything more important in literature than publishing Sterling's poem.
Sterling also wrote a children's story called The Saga of the Pony Express. Even with famous friends and mentors like Bierce, Sterling never became widely famous outside of California.
Sterling's poems were often about visions and mystical ideas. He also wrote funny, sometimes unpublishable, short poems. His writing style was similar to Romantic poets like Shelley and Poe. He also helped and encouraged another poet, Clark Ashton Smith, when Smith was starting his career.
George Sterling died in November 1926 at the San Francisco Bohemian Club. His most famous line about San Francisco was, "the cool, grey city of love!"
Memorials
- Sterling Avenue in Berkeley, California is named after George Sterling.
- It is also believed that Sterling Avenue in Alameda, California is named for him.
- A stone bench was dedicated to Sterling on June 25, 1926. It is located at the top of Hyde Street on Russian Hill, San Francisco. In 1982, the park where the bench is located was named "George Sterling Park."
Writings
Poetry
- The Testimony of the Suns and Other Poems (1903)
- A Wine of Wizardry and Other Poems (1909)
- The House of Orchids and Other Poems (1911)
- Beyond the Breakers and Other Poems (1914)
- Ode on the Opening of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
- The Evanescent City (1915)
- Selected Poems (1923)
Plays
- The Triumph of Bohemia: A Forest Play (1907)
- Lilith: A Dramatic Poem (1919)
- Rosamund: A Dramatic Poem (1920)
Songs
- Songs (1916, 1918, 1928)
- "You Are So Beautiful" (1917)
- "We're A-Going" (1918)
- "Love Song" (1926)
- The Abalone Song (1937)
Nonfiction
- Robinson Jeffers: The Man and the Artist (1926)
Fiction
- Babes in the Wood (2020)
Letters
- Give a Man a Boat He Can Sail: Letters of George Sterling (1980)
- From Baltimore to Bohemia: The Letters of H. L. Mencken and George Sterling (2001)
Volumes edited by Sterling
- The Letters of Ambrose Bierce (1922)
- Continent's End: An Anthology of Contemporary California Poets (1925)
See also
In Spanish: George Sterling para niños
