1882 in poetry explained

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

Events

Works published

United Kingdom

Great scientist this year a published poet

James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), whose contributions to science were profound (including formulation of Maxwell's equations which for the first time expressed the basic laws of electricity and magnetism in a unified fashion, and other discoveries that helped usher in modern physics), this year became a published poet when a collection of his poems was published by his friend Lewis Campbell, two years after Maxwell's death.

As a great lover of British poetry, Maxwell memorized poems and wrote his own. The best known is Rigid Body Sings closely based on Comin' Through the Rye by Robert Burns, which he apparently used to sing while accompanying himself on a guitar. It has the immortal opening lines http://www.haverford.edu/physics-astro/songs/rigid.htm:

Gin a body meet a body

Flyin' through the air.

Gin a body hit a body,

Will it fly? And where?

(Maxwell is also known for creating the first true-colour photograph in 1861.)

United States

Other

Births

Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

Deaths

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Cox, Michael. The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press. 2004. 0-19-860634-6. registration.
  2. Naik, M. K., Perspectives on Indian poetry in English, p. 230, (published by Abhinav Publications, 1984,,), retrieved via Google Books, June 12, 2009
  3. [Christopher Whyte (writer)|Whyte, Christopher]
  4. Ludwig, Richard M., and Clifford A. Nault, Jr., Annals of American Literature: 1602–1983, 1986, New York: Oxford University Press ("If the title page is one year later than the copyright date, we used the latter since publishers frequently postdate books published near the end of the calendar year." - from the Preface, p vi)
  5. Simms, William Gilmore . 25 . 123–124.
  6. Paniker, Ayyappa, "Modern Malayalam Literature" chapter in George, K. M., editor, Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology, pp 231–255, published by Sahitya Akademi, 1992, retrieved January 10, 2009.
  7. Das, Sisir Kumar, "A Chronology of Literary Events / 1911–1956", in Das, Sisir Kumar and various, History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956: struggle for freedom: triumph and tragedy, Volume 2, 1995, published by Sahitya Akademi,, retrieved via Google Books on December 23, 2008