Witter Bynner (1881-1968) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was a poet, translator, and activist. Upon graduating from Harvard University in 1902, he went to work as an editor at McClure's Magazine until 1906. Thereafter he moved to Cornish, New Hampshire, where he became a writer and lecturer and was involved in the women's suffrage movement. In 1918 and 1919, as an alternative to military duty in World War I, he taught English to the Students' Army Training Corps at the University of California, Berkeley. While there, he met Chinese professor, scholar, and politician Jiang Kanghu, 1883-1954, and spent the next 11 years collaborating with him on translating Tang dynasty poems, living and studying in China in 1920 and 1921.
In 1922 Bynner moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he remained. In the early 1930s he entered into a lifelong partnership with Robert Hunt, 1907-1964, and their home became a gathering place for some of the most prominent artistic, literary, and cultural figures of their time. Bynner served as president of the Poetry Society of America from 1921 to 1923. By his bequest, the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry was founded in 1972, which continues to fund grants and fellowships to support poets and poetry in modern times. Bynner traveled widely in Asia and Europe, and he and Hunt had a second home in Chapala, Mexico. He authored dozens of books of poetry and plays and collaborated on many translations and anthologies over his lifetime. In 1906, Mary Baker Eddy's student Alfred Farlow met with Bynner to interview him about McClure's intention to publish a lengthy and controversial article on Eddy written by Georgine Milmine, which it did in serial format from December 1906 to June 1908.
See more letters.
Witter Bynner (1881-1968) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was a poet, translator, and activist. Upon graduating from Harvard University in 1902, he went to work as an editor at McClure's Magazine until 1906. Thereafter he moved to Cornish, New Hampshire, where he became a writer and lecturer and was involved in the women's suffrage movement. In 1918 and 1919, as an alternative to military duty in World War I, he taught English to the Students' Army Training Corps at the University of California, Berkeley. While there, he met Chinese professor, scholar, and politician Jiang Kanghu, 1883-1954, and spent the next 11 years collaborating with him on translating Tang dynasty poems, living and studying in China in 1920 and 1921.
In 1922 Bynner moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he remained. In the early 1930s he entered into a lifelong partnership with Robert Hunt, 1907-1964, and their home became a gathering place for some of the most prominent artistic, literary, and cultural figures of their time. Bynner served as president of the Poetry Society of America from 1921 to 1923. By his bequest, the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry was founded in 1972, which continues to fund grants and fellowships to support poets and poetry in modern times. Bynner traveled widely in Asia and Europe, and he and Hunt had a second home in Chapala, Mexico. He authored dozens of books of poetry and plays and collaborated on many translations and anthologies over his lifetime. In 1906, Mary Baker Eddy's student Alfred Farlow met with Bynner to interview him about McClure's intention to publish a lengthy and controversial article on Eddy written by Georgine Milmine, which it did in serial format from December 1906 to June 1908.
See more letters.