Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr
Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr. was an American poet born on September 2, 1895, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the son of an educator and poet, which likely influenced his literary pursuits. Cotter attended Fisk University, where he began writing for the Fisk Herald, but his studies were cut short due to a battle with tuberculosis. After returning home, he continued to write and gained recognition for his poetry, particularly after the death of his sister, Florence, which deeply affected him and inspired the poignant poem "To Florence." His work often reflected themes of war and the experiences of black soldiers during World War I, establishing him as one of the notable Great War Poets.
Cotter's poetry exhibited a blend of traditional forms and modern free verse, as well as an appreciation for the unique linguistic heritage of African American expression. His most recognized work, *The Band of Gideon, and Other Lyrics*, was published during his lifetime, while other pieces were posthumously released. Despite his untimely death at the age of twenty-three on February 3, 1919, Cotter's contributions laid significant groundwork for future African American writers, particularly those of the Harlem Renaissance. His legacy endures through his exploration of identity and experience within the context of race and war.
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Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.
Poet
- Born: September 2, 1895
- Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
- Died: February 3, 1919
- Place of death: Louisville, Kentucky
Biography
Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr., was born on September 2, 1895, in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of educator and poet Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr. He attended school in Louisville, graduating from Louisville Central High School in 1911. He enrolled in Fisk University, a predominantly black school in Nashville, Tennessee, where his older sister Florence was already in attendance. He had a close attachment to Florence, who had taught him to read when he was a toddler. His interest in writing was nurtured by writing for the Fisk Herald, a monthly periodical published by literary societies at the school.
Cotter’s college career was cut short in his second year when he contracted tuberculosis and had to return home. In Louisville, he continued his writing with a job editing and writing for a Louisville newspaper, the Leader. It was during this period that his poetry became more widely noticed. Tragedy struck with the death of his sister Florence, who also had contracted tuberculosis. Disconsolate, he conveyed his despair at her passing in what is considered one of his most moving poems, “To Florence, his tribute to her.
The onset of World War I inspired him to write several poems about war and the heroism and hardihood of black soldiers, including “Sonnet to Negro Soldiers” and “O, Little David, Play on Your Harp.” These and poems helped establish him as one of the best of the Great War Poets. Many of his poems are written in a style that calls to mind the rhythms and expressions of old-time Southern black preachers, but he avoided writing in the dialect style favored by his father, whose writing had been influenced by poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar.
Cotter experimented with modern free verse, tried his hand at traditional poetic forms, and incorporated African American idiom in some poems, believing its unique expression had an untouched poetic potential. Because of his work, the poetic possibilities of African American experience and expression became more apparent, and Cotter laid the groundwork for writers of the Harlem Renaissance to produce their innovative work.
Cotter is best known for his collection of poems The Band of Gideon, and Other Lyrics, the only work published during his lifetime. His nineteen-sonnet sequence, Out of the Shadows, was published posthumously in a journal, and his one-act play, On the Fields of France, was published in 1920 by Crisis magazine. Because of the racial climate in his time, Cotter’s poems about black soldiers in World War I did not blatantly protest the treatment of black war veterans, but readers looking between the lines could easily ferret out his stance of repudiation. By the time the war was over, his skill as a poet caused some to declare him a rising star. His considerable range in technique and choice of theme and his ability to write diverse and technically excellent poetry contributed to his growing reputation. However, his promising career ended prematurely when tuberculosis at last overcame him; he died at age twenty-three on February 3, 1919.