Samuel Foster Damon
Samuel Foster Damon was an influential American professor, literary critic, and poet, born on February 22, 1893, in Newton, Massachusetts. He graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1914 and became associated with the Harvard Aesthetes. Damon served as an instructor during World War I before transitioning into academia, where he began publishing critical works and poetry. Notably, he was recognized for his insights into the works of poet William Blake, producing significant texts including "A Blake Dictionary" in 1965. In 1927, he joined Brown University, where he further developed his career and interests in American folklore, contributing to both poetry and music. Throughout his life, Damon received several accolades, such as the Golden Rose from the New England Poetry Society and the honor of being the Phi Beta Kappa poet at Tufts University. He passed away on December 25, 1971, leaving behind a legacy that includes both a rich body of literary criticism and a notable collection of poetry, with his works continuing to be celebrated posthumously.
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Samuel Foster Damon
Poet
- Born: February 22, 1893
- Birthplace: Newton, Massachusetts
- Died: December 25, 1971
- Place of death: Smithfield, Rhode Island
Biography
Samuel Foster Damon, professor, literary critic, and poet identified with the “Harvard Aesthetes,” was born on February 22, 1893, in Newton, Massachusetts. He was the son of Sarah Wolf (Pastorius) and Joseph Neal Damon. After attending Newton High School, Damon graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1914. He traveled throughout Europe before returning to America, spending World War I as an instructor for the Harvard R.O.T.C. and for soldiers in Boston Harbor. After the war, he became an assistant in English at Harvard until 1927. Early publications during this time include an imitation Japanese Nô drama, Kiri nô Meijiyama, in the Dial magazine (1920), and William Blake: His Philosophy and Symbols (1924). In his literary criticism, Damon has been best remembered for his ongoing publications on Blake.
In 1927, Damon became assistant professor of English at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, published his first volume of poetry (Astrolabe: Infinitudes and Hypocrisies, 1927), and also received his master of arts degree from Harvard. He then married Louise Wheelwright of Boston in February of 1928. Damon’s curatorship of the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays began in 1929. Three years after beginning at Brown, Damon became an associate professor there, being made a full professor in 1936. The New England Poetry Society awarded him its Golden Rose in 1932, and Damon became the Phi Beta Kappa poet at Tufts University in 1934. His biography of Amy Lowell was published in 1935.
While living in Providence, Damon displayed increasing interest in American folklore, especially in the areas of folk songs and dancing. He composed an orchestral suite, Crazy Theatre Music, which was performed and broadcast in 1938, and edited a published series of folk songs. His poems continued to be published regularly in venues such as the Atlantic, the Dial, and Harper’s Magazine, sometimes under the pseudonym Samuel Nomad.
Probably his best-known work on Blake, A Blake Dictionary, came out in 1965, and a long poem, The Moulton Tragedy: A Heroic Poem with Lyrics, was published in 1971. Damon died on December 25, 1971; in his last years, he had been awarded an honorable Litt.D. by Brown University, and an overview, Selected Poems of S. Foster Damon, was published posthumously in 1974.