Joyce Kilmer

Joyce Kilmer (full name: Alfred Joyce Kilmer, December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American journalist and poet; his best-known work is "Trees". The poem is notable for its anthropomorphism: the tree in the poem presses its mouth to the earth's breast and looks at God and raises its leafy arms to pray. The poem was given a musical setting that was quite popular in the 1940s and 1950s.

Related Topics:
December 6 - 1886 - July 30 - 1918 - American - Journalist - Poet - Anthropomorphism - Tree - Poem - Mouth - Breast - God - Pray - 1940s - 1950s

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Kilmer was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and attended Rutgers College and Columbia (B.A., 1908). His wife was Aline Murray. He was a soldier in the United States Army 165th Infantry, Rainbow Division and was killed in action by a sniper during World War I. His body is buried in the Oise-Aisne Cemetery, Fere-en-Tardenois, France.

Related Topics:
New Brunswick, New Jersey - Rutgers College - Columbia - United States Army - Sniper - World War I - Oise-Aisne Cemetery - France

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The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest which is approximately 3,800 acres (15 km²) of old growth forest is located in the Nantahala National Forest under the management of the USDA Forest Service in Graham County, North Carolina. This forest was purchased by the US government in order to stop extensive over-logging in the area and dedicated to Kilmer's memory on July 10, 1936. It has some of the largest trees east of the Mississippi, and includes the Slickrock Wilderness Area.

Related Topics:
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest - Acre - Old growth - Nantahala National Forest - Management - USDA Forest Service - Graham County, North Carolina - Logging - July 10 - 1936

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He currently has a street named after him in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as well as many schools in New Jersey, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin, most of which were built during the period his poem was famous. The New Jersey Turnpike has a rest area named after him. The Philolexian Society of Columbia University, a collegiate literary society of which he was Vice President, annually holds the infamous Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest in his honor.

Related Topics:
New Jersey Turnpike - Philolexian Society - Columbia University

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