Sadakichi Hartmann
Encyclopedia
Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (November 8, 1867 - November 22, 1944) was a critic and poet of German
and Japan
ese descent.
Hartmann, born on the artificial island of Dejima
, Nagasaki and raised in Germany, became an American
citizen in 1894. An important early participant in modernism
, Hartmann was a friend of such diverse figures as Walt Whitman
, Stéphane Mallarmé
and Ezra Pound
. His poetry, deeply influenced by the Symbolists
as well as Eastern literature, includes 1904's Drifting Flowers of the Sea and Other Poems, 1913's My Rubaiyat and 1915's Japanese Rhythms. His works of criticism include Shakespeare in Art (1901) and Japanese Art (1904). During the 1910s, Hartmann let himself be crowned King of the Bohemians by Guido Bruno
in New York's Greenwich Village
. Hartmann wrote some of the earliest English language haiku
. He was also one of the first critics to write about photography
, with regular essays in Alfred Steiglitz's Camera Notes
.
Later years found him living in Hollywood and Banning, California
. He made a brief appearance in the Douglas Fairbanks film The Thief of Bagdad
as the court magician. In 1944, he died while visiting his daughter in St. Petersburg, Florida
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese descent.
Hartmann, born on the artificial island of Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
, Nagasaki and raised in Germany, became an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen in 1894. An important early participant in modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, Hartmann was a friend of such diverse figures as Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
and Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
. His poetry, deeply influenced by the Symbolists
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
as well as Eastern literature, includes 1904's Drifting Flowers of the Sea and Other Poems, 1913's My Rubaiyat and 1915's Japanese Rhythms. His works of criticism include Shakespeare in Art (1901) and Japanese Art (1904). During the 1910s, Hartmann let himself be crowned King of the Bohemians by Guido Bruno
Guido Bruno
Guido Bruno was a well-known Greenwich Village character, sometimes called 'the Barnum of Bohemia'.He was based at his "Garret" on Washington Square where for an admission fee tourists could observe genuine "Bohemian" artists at work...
in New York's Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. Hartmann wrote some of the earliest English language haiku
Haiku in English
Haiku in English is a development of the Japanese haiku poetic form in the English language.Contemporary haiku are written in many languages, but most poets outside of Japan are concentrated in the English-speaking countries....
. He was also one of the first critics to write about photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, with regular essays in Alfred Steiglitz's Camera Notes
Camera Notes
Camera Notes was a photographic journal published by the Camera Club of New York from 1897 to 1903. It was edited for most of that time by photographer Alfred Stieglitz and was considered the most significant American photography journal of its time...
.
Later years found him living in Hollywood and Banning, California
Banning, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Banning had a population of 29,603. The population density was 1,281.6 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Banning was 19,164 White, 2,165 African American, 641 Native American, 1,549 Asian, 39 Pacific Islander, 4,604 from other...
. He made a brief appearance in the Douglas Fairbanks film The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad (1924 film)
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1924 American swashbuckler film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks. Freely adapted from One Thousand and One Nights, it tells the story of a thief who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph of Bagdad...
as the court magician. In 1944, he died while visiting his daughter in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
.
External links
- Detailed Biography, Bibliography and More at Modern American Poetry
- http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf7s2007q4/?&query=hartmann&brand=oacSadakichi Hartmann's archive at the University of California, RiversideUniversity of California, RiversideThe University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
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