Garland Society News:
Readers Theatre Revives Story of Pulitzer Winner at Dutch Museum
Aleisa Schat, July 10, 2023
ORANGE CITY—When James Schaap took a recent trip to the eastern half of the state, he stopped in Osage at the Mitchell County Historical Museum to see what he could learn about Hamlin Garland, a once acclaimed author who has faded into relative obscurity....
When he stumbled on Garland’s short story “Mrs. Ripley’s Trip,” Schaap saw an opportunity for a miniature revival of the once-popular author’s work. He set about adapting the story as a piece of readers theatre, and a staged reading of “Mrs. Ripley’s Trip” will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, at the Dutch-American Heritage Museum in Orange City. Follow this link to read the full story.
Aleisa Schat, July 10, 2023
ORANGE CITY—When James Schaap took a recent trip to the eastern half of the state, he stopped in Osage at the Mitchell County Historical Museum to see what he could learn about Hamlin Garland, a once acclaimed author who has faded into relative obscurity....
When he stumbled on Garland’s short story “Mrs. Ripley’s Trip,” Schaap saw an opportunity for a miniature revival of the once-popular author’s work. He set about adapting the story as a piece of readers theatre, and a staged reading of “Mrs. Ripley’s Trip” will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, at the Dutch-American Heritage Museum in Orange City. Follow this link to read the full story.
Osage Poetry Reading Remembers Native Son Hamlin Garland
Alexander Schmidt, June 22, 2023
Sunday's program was titled "Garland Poems: New (to us) and Old" due to the inclusion of five poems that had not before been featured at the poetry reading. This is just one more example of how the passion of local historians towards Garland's life and legacy can continue to unearth new details and stories that keep Hamlin Garland's influence alive and resonating 80 years after his death. Follow this link to find the full article.
Alexander Schmidt, June 22, 2023
Sunday's program was titled "Garland Poems: New (to us) and Old" due to the inclusion of five poems that had not before been featured at the poetry reading. This is just one more example of how the passion of local historians towards Garland's life and legacy can continue to unearth new details and stories that keep Hamlin Garland's influence alive and resonating 80 years after his death. Follow this link to find the full article.
Garland Poetry for Fifth Graders? … Why Not???
Kurt Meyer, May 19, 2023
Earlier this month, I tried my hand at teaching fifth graders in Charles City, Iowa, about Hamlin Garland poems. Charles City, a community of 7,000 people, is less than 25 miles from where Garland lived for a decade during his boyhood. These students had been learning about poetry and I received a copy of the teachers’ guide ahead of time. (Who is the speaker? What situation is presented? Who or what is the audience? Does the poem use imagery to achieve a particular effect? Etc.). Nevertheless, I was mildly intimidated by the challenge, having never attempted to connect with ten-year-olds regarding HG, say nothing about his poetry. But then… how tough can it be? The first question I encountered upon being introduced: Are you famous? (“No, but I’m somewhat well known within my immediate family…”) Their classroom teacher, Ann Prichard, has been a valued friend for several decades. She’s a superb teacher and her students were well-prepared and attentive during our 45-minutes together. I’ve attached the Garland poems we attempted to analyze… searching high and low for examples of metaphor, simile, alliteration, repetition, even onomatopoeia. Oh, what fun, at least for the one-day teacher! Follow this link to find the poems read by the students.
Kurt Meyer, May 19, 2023
Earlier this month, I tried my hand at teaching fifth graders in Charles City, Iowa, about Hamlin Garland poems. Charles City, a community of 7,000 people, is less than 25 miles from where Garland lived for a decade during his boyhood. These students had been learning about poetry and I received a copy of the teachers’ guide ahead of time. (Who is the speaker? What situation is presented? Who or what is the audience? Does the poem use imagery to achieve a particular effect? Etc.). Nevertheless, I was mildly intimidated by the challenge, having never attempted to connect with ten-year-olds regarding HG, say nothing about his poetry. But then… how tough can it be? The first question I encountered upon being introduced: Are you famous? (“No, but I’m somewhat well known within my immediate family…”) Their classroom teacher, Ann Prichard, has been a valued friend for several decades. She’s a superb teacher and her students were well-prepared and attentive during our 45-minutes together. I’ve attached the Garland poems we attempted to analyze… searching high and low for examples of metaphor, simile, alliteration, repetition, even onomatopoeia. Oh, what fun, at least for the one-day teacher! Follow this link to find the poems read by the students.
The Inexorable March of Civilization
Kurt Meyer, May 3, 2023
I met with two classes of high school juniors on Wednesday at my Alma Mater in nearby St. Ansgar, Iowa. My assignment was to tell students about Hamlin Garland. During his boyhood 150 years earlier, Garland lived a dozen miles from where we gathered. The author, who employed the term “trail makers” in a book title, was himself a trail maker. For instance, he was an ardent advocate for wilderness preservation long before such thinking became more widespread. Garland’s environmental advocacy was rooted in a growing awareness that the prairies of North Iowa were disappearing, a process he participated in from behind a plow. He wrote about this in “Boy Life on the Prairie,” published in 1899 and set in North Iowa. In this book’s conclusion, after being away from Iowa for several years, Garland and a neighbor friend return and notice the diminishing prairie. To read Kurt Meyer's full column, follow this link.
Kurt Meyer, May 3, 2023
I met with two classes of high school juniors on Wednesday at my Alma Mater in nearby St. Ansgar, Iowa. My assignment was to tell students about Hamlin Garland. During his boyhood 150 years earlier, Garland lived a dozen miles from where we gathered. The author, who employed the term “trail makers” in a book title, was himself a trail maker. For instance, he was an ardent advocate for wilderness preservation long before such thinking became more widespread. Garland’s environmental advocacy was rooted in a growing awareness that the prairies of North Iowa were disappearing, a process he participated in from behind a plow. He wrote about this in “Boy Life on the Prairie,” published in 1899 and set in North Iowa. In this book’s conclusion, after being away from Iowa for several years, Garland and a neighbor friend return and notice the diminishing prairie. To read Kurt Meyer's full column, follow this link.
Garland Family Postcards
Kurt Meyer, May 1, 2023
An email from last summer triggered my postcard interest. A woman in South Carolina found me via this Hamlin Garland Society website, which lists me as contact should someone wish to reach out. Debbie did by sending me an email: “Many years ago, I was given a small collection of postcards written to Hamlin Garland's wife and family mostly from Europe in the early years of the last century, from 1908 to 1914*. With one exception, they are not written to Garland himself… but I wonder if the Society might want them. They are hard to decipher, but many are signed F.K.H. … I would be happy to give them a new home.” -- Debbie, Greenville, SC, but formerly of Trempealeau, WI. To read Kurt Meyer's full column, follow this link.
Kurt Meyer, May 1, 2023
An email from last summer triggered my postcard interest. A woman in South Carolina found me via this Hamlin Garland Society website, which lists me as contact should someone wish to reach out. Debbie did by sending me an email: “Many years ago, I was given a small collection of postcards written to Hamlin Garland's wife and family mostly from Europe in the early years of the last century, from 1908 to 1914*. With one exception, they are not written to Garland himself… but I wonder if the Society might want them. They are hard to decipher, but many are signed F.K.H. … I would be happy to give them a new home.” -- Debbie, Greenville, SC, but formerly of Trempealeau, WI. To read Kurt Meyer's full column, follow this link.
Edward Eggleston, 1837-1902
Garland and Eggleston, the Minnesota Connection
Kurt Meyer, February 3, 2023
For almost three years, I have written a column entitled “Showing Up” for a weekly newspaper in North Iowa. The latest installment is posted below. Although I only mention Hamlin Garland in passing, in preparation, I took time to re-read an article written by John T. Flanagan, then professor of literature at the University of Minnesota, entitled, “Hamlin Garland, Occasional Minnesotan” (1941). Flanagan draws on an interview he had with Garland in California in 1939, one year before Garland’s death.
To read Kurt Meyer's full column, follow this link.
Kurt Meyer, February 3, 2023
For almost three years, I have written a column entitled “Showing Up” for a weekly newspaper in North Iowa. The latest installment is posted below. Although I only mention Hamlin Garland in passing, in preparation, I took time to re-read an article written by John T. Flanagan, then professor of literature at the University of Minnesota, entitled, “Hamlin Garland, Occasional Minnesotan” (1941). Flanagan draws on an interview he had with Garland in California in 1939, one year before Garland’s death.
To read Kurt Meyer's full column, follow this link.
A Ramble through the Hamlin Garland Wildlife Area
Kurt Meyer, November 28, 2022
Truth be told, there isn’t much in Mitchell County, Iowa, bearing the Garland name.
A modest apartment complex on the south side of Osage, the county seat, is called “Garland Housing” or some such. The building where Hamlin reputedly lived briefly while attending Cedar Valley Seminary was razed earlier this fall. Most recently, it had served as a private residence, and it certainly could have been a boarding house in the late 1800s. There’s a plaque designating the Garland Homestead several miles northeast of Osage, where the family lived during most of their Mitchell County years (1870-1881), a house built by Richard, Hamlin’s father.
And for several decades, there has been the Hamlin Garland Wildlife Area, one mile north of St. Ansgar, twelve miles northwest of where the Garland family lived. The property has no direct connection with the Garlands or their Mitchell County years. The name simply honors our prominent native son. The 114-acre site is owned and maintained by the Mitchell County Conservation Board. Its primary feature is a marsh… and the entire property is magnificent!
North Iowa does not have Grand Canyon glory, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t occasional glimpses of nature’s beauty. Conservation staff members have planted turnips on a small strip of land to feed the deer population. In addition to the marsh, there’s a small woodlot. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, a ramble through the site was a wonderful way to work off SOME of the prior-day feast! During the hour my wife and I were there, we had the property all to ourselves.
A dozen years ago, at the conclusion of a day of providing local high school students an overview of Garland and his significance, I was approached by a young man who asked if I could help him identify an appropriate Garland quote for the sign at the Wildlife Area as part of his Eagle Scout project. I sent him 3 or 4 options and he chose a few lines from the ending of “Boy Life on the Prairie.” Below are a few pictures of the wildlife area.
Let me know if and when you want a tour…
Kurt Meyer, November 28, 2022
Truth be told, there isn’t much in Mitchell County, Iowa, bearing the Garland name.
A modest apartment complex on the south side of Osage, the county seat, is called “Garland Housing” or some such. The building where Hamlin reputedly lived briefly while attending Cedar Valley Seminary was razed earlier this fall. Most recently, it had served as a private residence, and it certainly could have been a boarding house in the late 1800s. There’s a plaque designating the Garland Homestead several miles northeast of Osage, where the family lived during most of their Mitchell County years (1870-1881), a house built by Richard, Hamlin’s father.
And for several decades, there has been the Hamlin Garland Wildlife Area, one mile north of St. Ansgar, twelve miles northwest of where the Garland family lived. The property has no direct connection with the Garlands or their Mitchell County years. The name simply honors our prominent native son. The 114-acre site is owned and maintained by the Mitchell County Conservation Board. Its primary feature is a marsh… and the entire property is magnificent!
North Iowa does not have Grand Canyon glory, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t occasional glimpses of nature’s beauty. Conservation staff members have planted turnips on a small strip of land to feed the deer population. In addition to the marsh, there’s a small woodlot. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, a ramble through the site was a wonderful way to work off SOME of the prior-day feast! During the hour my wife and I were there, we had the property all to ourselves.
A dozen years ago, at the conclusion of a day of providing local high school students an overview of Garland and his significance, I was approached by a young man who asked if I could help him identify an appropriate Garland quote for the sign at the Wildlife Area as part of his Eagle Scout project. I sent him 3 or 4 options and he chose a few lines from the ending of “Boy Life on the Prairie.” Below are a few pictures of the wildlife area.
Let me know if and when you want a tour…
Hamlin Garland's Granddaughter Passes Away
Victoria (Vicki) Brighid Doyle-Jones, May 27, 1945 – October 29, 2022
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” was a truism in the life of Victoria, “Vicki”’, Doyle-Jones. From her CPA father, Vicki inherited organizational and business skills; from her artist, Hollywood-connected, mother, who grew up in the swirl of early twentieth century literary figures, Vicki assumed art talent and the love of social gatherings; and her grandfather, author Hamlin Garland, passed on innate abilities at writing, editing, and the clear use of language. We don’t know where from where she found her passion for animals, natural science, and education, but Vicki was a woman of many gifts and interests, and she shared them, and herself, generously with others with every ounce of her being, always. To read the full obituary follow this link.
Garland Poetry in North Iowa
Kurt Meyer, June 26, 2022
For thirteen years, people living near Hamlin Garland’s boyhood home in North Iowa have gathered in June to read and hear, in Garland’s words, “chants rhymed and unrhymed,” an event hosted by the Mitchell County Historic Preservation Association. For most of these years, the works featured focused on Garland’s nature writing--the wind, the trees, the wildlife, etc.-- which the author recalled from his Mitchell County years.
This year, however, the range was expanded to reveal more of the variety and versatility of Garland’s verses. This difference is reflected in the title of the event. In previous years, the gathering has been entitled “Nurtured by Nature." This year’s reading, held outdoors on Sunday afternoon, June 26, was under the banner of “Garland Lines, New and Old."
The event included some poems set locally, primarily from “Prairie Songs,” and others, drawn extensively from “The Trail of the Goldseeker." Most poems had a rhyming pattern; several selections were free verse, rather uncommon in the 1890s when they were written. For the last eight years, the event setting has been the Garland family homestead, 3907 Noble Avenue, northeast of Osage, Iowa, where Hamlin’s family lived throughout his teenage years.
Kurt Meyer prepared a program with the poems that is attached.
Kurt Meyer, June 26, 2022
For thirteen years, people living near Hamlin Garland’s boyhood home in North Iowa have gathered in June to read and hear, in Garland’s words, “chants rhymed and unrhymed,” an event hosted by the Mitchell County Historic Preservation Association. For most of these years, the works featured focused on Garland’s nature writing--the wind, the trees, the wildlife, etc.-- which the author recalled from his Mitchell County years.
This year, however, the range was expanded to reveal more of the variety and versatility of Garland’s verses. This difference is reflected in the title of the event. In previous years, the gathering has been entitled “Nurtured by Nature." This year’s reading, held outdoors on Sunday afternoon, June 26, was under the banner of “Garland Lines, New and Old."
The event included some poems set locally, primarily from “Prairie Songs,” and others, drawn extensively from “The Trail of the Goldseeker." Most poems had a rhyming pattern; several selections were free verse, rather uncommon in the 1890s when they were written. For the last eight years, the event setting has been the Garland family homestead, 3907 Noble Avenue, northeast of Osage, Iowa, where Hamlin’s family lived throughout his teenage years.
Kurt Meyer prepared a program with the poems that is attached.
A Coaster from The Cliff Dwellers
Kurt Meyer Selects a Book for a The Cliff Dwellers
In Showing Up, Column 94, Kurt Meyer discusses membership in The Cliff Dwellers and the book that he selected for one of their discussions:
"In 1901, Fuller published “Under the Skylights,” three short stories set in Chicago, the centerpiece being “The Downfall of Abner Joyce”. Let there be no doubt: this 140-page roman à clef (French: “novel with a key”) is a brutal takedown of Hamlin Garland, then a blustery, unvarnished “force of nature,” fresh off the farm. By the story’s ending, however, Abner is becoming civilized into Chicago society, growth encouraged by the cultured woman he falls for – and ultimately marries – Medora Giles (in real life, Zulime Taft)." See Showing Up, Column 94 for the full account.
See also Showing Up, Column 74, Meyer's reflection on his visit to The Cliff Dwellers Club. And in Showing Up, Column 53, he discusses Garland's life and work, 81 years after his death.
In Showing Up, Column 94, Kurt Meyer discusses membership in The Cliff Dwellers and the book that he selected for one of their discussions:
"In 1901, Fuller published “Under the Skylights,” three short stories set in Chicago, the centerpiece being “The Downfall of Abner Joyce”. Let there be no doubt: this 140-page roman à clef (French: “novel with a key”) is a brutal takedown of Hamlin Garland, then a blustery, unvarnished “force of nature,” fresh off the farm. By the story’s ending, however, Abner is becoming civilized into Chicago society, growth encouraged by the cultured woman he falls for – and ultimately marries – Medora Giles (in real life, Zulime Taft)." See Showing Up, Column 94 for the full account.
See also Showing Up, Column 74, Meyer's reflection on his visit to The Cliff Dwellers Club. And in Showing Up, Column 53, he discusses Garland's life and work, 81 years after his death.
Hamlin and Zulime Garland
The Hamlin Garland Story: Remarks presented at the Opening of “Hamlin Garland Revisited”
Kurt Meyer, November 21, 2021
My Garland story today is really the story of how this magnificent portrait ended up in Osage. It all started maybe a quarter of a century ago, when I became convinced and more than a bit frustrated that a Hamlin Garland’s Mitchell County years were being overlooked by scholars, historians, and authors… those who really should know better....
I reached out to my friend Denis Boerjan, who I have known for more than 50 years, who is on the board here, and asked about potential interest on the part of the Historical Society. This is how Keith Martin, Sr’s extraordinary portrait of Hamlin Garland ended up HERE. Martin Senior’s son, Keith Martin, Junior, had taken it upon himself to find “good, more appropriate homes” for certain objects in his parents’ estate. This Garland portrait is one such example.
To read Kurt Meyer's full remarks on the unveiling of the Garland portrait, follow this link to "The Hamlin Garland Story: Remarks presented at the Opening of 'Hamlin Garland Revisited'"
Hamlin Garland, 1937
Hamlin Garland Returning to Mitchell County
Jason W. Selby Press News, Nov 11, 2021
Hamlin Garland is returning to Mitchell County. For Kurt Meyer, president of the Hamlin Garland Society, it is an early Christmas present. According to a press release, the Mitchell County Historical Society will unveil a newly-acquired portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author during a special gathering on Sunday, Nov. 21. It will be held at the MCHS museum, which is housed at the Cedar River Complex in Osage. A few months ago, Meyer did not even know the portrait existed. In 1937, distinguished artist Keith Martin Sr. painted Garland while he lived in Hollywood. Recently, Keith Martin Jr. decided he should find the portrait’s home. The son of the artist reached out to Meyer and the Hamlin Garland Society, which is a national organization with an online presence.
To read the full article, follow this link to "Hamlin Garland Returning to Mitchell County."
Jason W. Selby Press News, Nov 11, 2021
Hamlin Garland is returning to Mitchell County. For Kurt Meyer, president of the Hamlin Garland Society, it is an early Christmas present. According to a press release, the Mitchell County Historical Society will unveil a newly-acquired portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author during a special gathering on Sunday, Nov. 21. It will be held at the MCHS museum, which is housed at the Cedar River Complex in Osage. A few months ago, Meyer did not even know the portrait existed. In 1937, distinguished artist Keith Martin Sr. painted Garland while he lived in Hollywood. Recently, Keith Martin Jr. decided he should find the portrait’s home. The son of the artist reached out to Meyer and the Hamlin Garland Society, which is a national organization with an online presence.
To read the full article, follow this link to "Hamlin Garland Returning to Mitchell County."
Kurt Meyer Visits Cliff Dwellers Club
Posted October 10, 2021, Richard Reeder
https://aliteraryreeder.wordpress.com/
Kurt Meyer (holding the book), the President of the Hamlin Garland Society, paid a recent visit to the Cliff Dwellers Club. He met with Club President Carla Funk (on the right), Club Vice-President Joan Pantsios (on the left), and me, the Club Secretary (between Kurt and Carla). A portrait of Garland is behind us. Hamlin Garland was a prominent American literary figure in the first three decades of the 20th Century. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1922 for the biography, A Daughter of the Middle Border. He was one of the charter members of the Cliff Dwellers, and the Club’s first President. An outcome of Kurt’s visit was an agreement to start planning programs at the Cliff Dwellers on the works and life of Garland in partnership with the Hamlin Garland Society.
"Nurtured by Nature": Poetry Reading at the Garland Homestead, Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa
On June 20, 2021, the Mitchell County Historic Preservation Society hosted a poetry reading at the Garland homestead in rural Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa. Outdoors in lawn chairs, the reading featured poems that Garland wrote about his Midwestern background. The annual event takes place at the home site, where the Garland family lived in the 1870s. Kurt Meyer prepared a program with poems that is attached as a PDF.
On June 20, 2021, the Mitchell County Historic Preservation Society hosted a poetry reading at the Garland homestead in rural Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa. Outdoors in lawn chairs, the reading featured poems that Garland wrote about his Midwestern background. The annual event takes place at the home site, where the Garland family lived in the 1870s. Kurt Meyer prepared a program with poems that is attached as a PDF.
Hamlin Garland and the Homestead Act of 1862
On June 13, 2021, the Homestead National Historic Park in Beatrice, Nebraska hosted a panel discussion that focused on authors who lived through and wrote about the homesteading experience. Panel members represented six authors: Phoebe May Hopper, Bess Streeter Aldrich, Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Hamlin Garland. Kurt Meyer discussed Garland's experiences. and a version of Kurt's presentation is attached.
"Hamlin Garland’s Mad Quest for the ‘Buried Crosses’"
Abby Gibson, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, chronicles Garland's mad, mystical search for buried crosses in a fascinating article for Alta Journal, August 2, 2021.
https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a36550052/hamlin-garland-quest-buried-crosses/
USC Libraries Digitizing 10,200 Hamlin Garland Letters
The USC Libraries’ collection features Garland’s letters from 3,000 correspondents, including Jane Addams, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, William Dean Howells, Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton. As such, it preserves the intellectual tissue of a vast, diverse social network—with Garland at the center—spanning 50 years of American life. The digitized letters can be found at http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll81
Keith Newlin's Latest Garland Collection Available from Iowan Books
Donald Pizer's Garland Essays Collected in One Volume
On June 13, 2021, the Homestead National Historic Park in Beatrice, Nebraska hosted a panel discussion that focused on authors who lived through and wrote about the homesteading experience. Panel members represented six authors: Phoebe May Hopper, Bess Streeter Aldrich, Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Hamlin Garland. Kurt Meyer discussed Garland's experiences. and a version of Kurt's presentation is attached.
"Hamlin Garland’s Mad Quest for the ‘Buried Crosses’"
Abby Gibson, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, chronicles Garland's mad, mystical search for buried crosses in a fascinating article for Alta Journal, August 2, 2021.
https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a36550052/hamlin-garland-quest-buried-crosses/
USC Libraries Digitizing 10,200 Hamlin Garland Letters
The USC Libraries’ collection features Garland’s letters from 3,000 correspondents, including Jane Addams, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, William Dean Howells, Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton. As such, it preserves the intellectual tissue of a vast, diverse social network—with Garland at the center—spanning 50 years of American life. The digitized letters can be found at http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll81
Keith Newlin's Latest Garland Collection Available from Iowan Books
- Prairie Visions, a new volume edited by Keith Newlin, reprints the first prose writings of Hamlin Garland, accompanied by 40 photographs by Jon Morris. This work illiterates the significance of place in Garland's imagination. In addition to a forward by Kurt Meyer and an introduction by Keith Newlin, the collection contains 6 sketches that Garland titled "Boy Life on the Prairie"--these early works first appeared in American Magazine (1888).
Donald Pizer's Garland Essays Collected in One Volume
- The Significant Hamlin Garland gathers in one place ground-breaking essays written over a sixty-year period, beginning with essays based on Pizer's research as a graduate student in the Garland collection at the University of Southern California (USC). This volume should interest not only Garland scholars but also those wishing to read an edifying case study of literary scholarship.
Contact Garland Society: Kurt Meyer, Society President, meyer6601@aol.com
Copyright © 2021
**We wish to thank Keith Newlin who created the original Garland Society website, ensuring that the Hamlin Garland Society had a permanent home,
Copyright © 2021
**We wish to thank Keith Newlin who created the original Garland Society website, ensuring that the Hamlin Garland Society had a permanent home,