Samuel French Morse
Encyclopedia
Samuel French Morse was an American poet
and teacher. The Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize from 1983–2009, was for a first or second book of poems by a U.S. poet, a $1000 cash award, and publication of the winning manuscript by Northeastern University Press/UPNE.
. He graduated from Dartmouth College
in 1936 and from Harvard University
in 1938, and from Boston University
in 1952.
From 1962 until 1985, he taught at Northeastern University.
He married Jane, and they summered at Hancock, Maine
. His first book, Time of Year, had a preface by Wallace Stevens
.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and teacher. The Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize from 1983–2009, was for a first or second book of poems by a U.S. poet, a $1000 cash award, and publication of the winning manuscript by Northeastern University Press/UPNE.
Life
Samuel French Morse was born in Salem, MassachusettsSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
. He graduated from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1936 and from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1938, and from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in 1952.
From 1962 until 1985, he taught at Northeastern University.
He married Jane, and they summered at Hancock, Maine
Hancock, Maine
Hancock is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,147 at the 2000 census. Located on the mainland at the head of Frenchman Bay, Hancock has commanding views of Mount Desert Island.-History:...
. His first book, Time of Year, had a preface by Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
.
Reviews
Mr. Morse doesn't answer these questions. Probably, they can't be answered, like "Is my thought a memory, not alive?" or "Is the spot on the floor, there, wine or blood/And whichever it may be, is it mine?" But his book does belong on that short, distinguished shelf including the collected poems, Holly Stevens's "Letters of Wallace Stevens" and Helen Hennessy Vendler's "On Extended Wings: Wallace Stevens' Longer Poems." And, who knows, maybe "They will get it straight one day at the Sorbonne./We shall return at twilight from the lecture/Pleased that the irrational is rational. . ." And Wallace Stevens "will have stopped revolving except in crystal." I hope not.