| |
|
| Crane Poem: "Unwind my riddle"
QUESTION: I am looking for a Crane poem that begins and ends
with "unwind my riddle."
It seems to be a list of images from his more well known works.
Gary Applegate, appogrit@aol.com
|
These lines are from Crane's epigraph to the
story "The Clan of No Name."
--Donald Vanouse
The complete story is available at http://www.boondocksnet.com/editions/crane/crane_wr_clan.html. Here
is the epigraph:
Unwind my riddle.
Cruel as hawks the hours fly;
Wounded men seldom come home to die;
The hard waves see an arm flung high;
Scorn hits strong because of a lie;
Yet there exists a mystic tie.
Unwind my riddle.
|
Crane Poem about "Other
Roads"
NAME: mk wilson
QUESTION: I remember reading a poem that i think was by crane when i was
a kid about a traveler coming upon 2 paths, one of them less traveled -
he decides to
take the less traveled path, but upon closer look sees that it is thickly
grown with weeds and thorns(?) - he finds the path more difficult to follow
than 1stwith weeds and thorns(?) - he finds the path more difficult to
follow than 1st anticipated, and decides to turn back - the poem ends with
him saying "doubtless, there are other paths" do you know of it or where
i might be able
to search for it - i am fairly new to web anything and don't know much
about searching yet
thanks for your time and help
11/14/00 |
This poem appears in War
is Kind. Here it is:
XIII
The wayfarer,
Perceiving the pathway to truth,
Was struck with astonishment.
It was thickly grown with weeds.
"Ha," he said,
"I see that none has passed here
In a long time."
Later he saw that each weed
Was a singular knife.
"Well," he mumbled at last,
"Doubtless there are other roads."
11/27/00 |
"A Mystery of
Heroism" Publication Date
When did Stephen Crane write "A Mystery of Heroism"? Anthony Poirel |
The story "A Mystery of Heroism" was published
in 1895. It was published in a newspaper which had serialized The
Red Badge the year before. The story was included in the war
stories of The Little Regiment in 1896. --Donald
Vanouse
1/16/01 |
Copyright Date for "A
Gray Sleeve"
QUESTION: I need to find the copyright date of a Stephen Crane short story
called, " A Gray Sleeve." We're planning to use it in a GED software program.
I've tried the Library of Congress web site and several othersand can't
find a listing. Can you help me?
Thank you! Rhonda Davis
2/16/01 |
"It is good of you to like "A Grey
Sleeve," Stephen Crane wrote to Nellie Crouse, a woman for whom he
felt a strong infatuation.
The story was published in 1896 in a collection of stories on
the Civil War: THE LITTLE REGIMENT. The story had first
appeared in several newspapers.
Don Vanouse |
Crane and Edward Townsend
I am trying to ascertain if Crane actually had any real relationship
with the novelist Edward Townsend (beyond "newspaper men"). I apologize
if there is an obvious and readily available resource on this. I
presently only have Stallman's biography, who only mentions reviews comparing
their works (1896) and a short reference to Townsend as "Crane's friend" (206)
who described an opium den in _Daughter of the Tenements_. Crane
himself calls Townsend his "good friend" in his well-known letter to Catherine
Harris (Nov. 1896), but I can't help but think he is being facetious
in this reference. Crane obviously does not believe that Townsend's "opinion" is
better than his.
Any clues would be greatly appreciated.
Randolph Handel, randy.handel@wscc.cc.tn.us
2/15/01 |
During his early years as a journalist in New
York City, Crane was personally acquainted with Edward Townsend,
who was at that time a reporter for the New York Sun. They often
met at gatherings of journalists at Shanley's restaurant on Broadway.
It would, therefore, be appropriate to characterize Townsend as a
friend of Crane. Nevertheless, since the publication of Maggie and
most of Crane's slum stories preceded the publication of Chimmie
Fadden and A Daughter of the Tenements, there is no question
of any literary influence of Townsend on Crane. The often-quoted
letter of Crane to Catherine Harris which mentions Townsend is demonstrably
apocryphal. It was written by Thomas Beer and not by Stephen Crane.
Stanley Wertheim, swertheim@nyc.rr.com
2/25/01 |
Early Crane Ghost Story
I am looking for a story written by Crane for the New York Press before
1895. It was about a ghostly white lady who walked the beaches
of New Jersey inquiring about the whereabouts of her lover's body. Those
who do not reply to her question were doomed to die within a day's time. Her
lover was a ship's captain headed for Buenos Aires, and she had told
him her wish was that he would never sail again. After a winter storm,
her lover's body washed to shore and he would, indeed, never sail again. I
don't know the name of this story or where to find a copy of it.
Thank you. Carol Krakower |
"The Ghostly Sphinx of Metedeconk" was probably
written in 1891 or 1892 and was published in the New York Press
on 13 January 1895. Along with "Ghosts on the New Jersey Coast" (New
York Press, 11 November 1894), it is one of two newspaper sketches
based on stories dealing with legends of spectral manifestations
on the New Jersey shore that Crane heard from local residents during
his youth in Asbury Park. In the later sketch Crane recounts the
legend of a specter of a young woman dressed in white who haunts
a beach near Metedeconk, New Jersey, searching for the body of her
lover, a ship's captain who was drowned in 1815. Those who are unable
to provide an answer to her question as to the location of the corpse
are themselves found dead on the beach the next morning. The question
the woman asks is rhetorical because she herself had seen his ship
founder off the coast on its return from Buenos Aires and found his
body washed up on the beach. There is a sentimental love story enclosed
within this ghostly tale. The young woman had sulked on her lover's
departure and later regretted her offhand farewell. She is now on
an eternal and futile quest to make amends. This sketch was reprinted
in Volume 8, Tales, Sketches, and Reports, of The University
Press of Virginia's edition of The Works of Stephen Crane. --Stanley
Wertheim |
Crane Poems: "I
saw a man pursuing the horizon"
I am searching for two Crane Poems.
One says something like, "I saw a man pursuing the horizon..."
The second says something like, "I stood upon a high place and saw many
devils..."
These are both Crane poems, correct?
Where can I find the full version?
ThanX!
Dana Duvall dduvall@gracemfg.com |
Yes. These are Crane poems, and
they were first published in BLACK RIDERS AND OTHER LINES (1895). Crane
used no titles, but your references are to the first lines of poems
# 9 and # 24. They are available in vol X of the Univ. of Va.
edition of SC and also both are found in THE PORTABLE SC edited by
Joseph Katz.
--Donald Vanouse
6/11/01
[Note: You can also find these online at the Crane site: http://black.htm
The Search
Feature can be used to find phrases such as "pursuing the horizon."--
D. Campbell]
|
Crane in Daytona
QUESTION: I live in the house where stephen crane stayed after being shipwrecked
in daytona....would like to know about getting some info and articles... John
Sharp |
There is a film tilted "Stephen Crane and the Commodore" which was produced in Daytona Beach, Florida (near where Crane came ashore after the Commodore sank). It dramatises the story of Crane's adventure and relates it to the story "The Open Boat." It's sold at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet (referred to as the Mosquito Light/Inlet in the story), as well as the Southeast Museum in Daytona.It's entertaining.
Frank Bonjione 2-2-06 |
| Possible Stephen Crane
Poem
I am looking for a poem that may or may not have been written
by Stephen Crane. It starts "I waited at the gate for long
moments in time (?), and hearing your voice, crossed over...
Linda, bartsgirl@hotmail.com
7/08/01
|
|
Maggie as a Play?
NAME: Laura Muir
QUESTION: I am looking for information about Crane's Maggie: A
Girl of the Streets being performed as a play on New York's Lower
East Side, or elsewhere. I am especially interested in performances
that may have occured before 1920. Thank you.
QUESTION: Has there ever been a play created based on Stephen Crane's Maggie:
A Child of the Streets? If so, by whom, and when? karenb@theatresports.net
4/6/02
|
According to George Monteiro's Stephen
Crane's Blue Badge of Courage, "Maggie, Girl of the
Streets, by Arthur Reel, was first produced by the Drama
Committee, New York City, on January 17, 1976" (45). A new
production of this version will appear in May
2003. --D. Campbell |
Crane Genealogy Question
QUESTION: Is there any information on Stephen Crane's family, in and around
Newark, New Jersey - Hillside, New Jersey. Our family tree on maternal
side lists possible connection. Crane's mother's maiden name, family,
in and around Newark, New Jersey - Hillside, New Jersey. Our family tree
on maternal side lists possible connection. Crane's mother's maiden name,
uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. Thank you. Shelley Panzarella,
fastiggi@tampabay.rr.com 11/23/01 |
From The Crane Log for 1871: "Stephen
Crane is born at 14 Mulberry Place, Newark, New Jersey, on 1 November
1871, the 14th and last child of Jonathan Townley Crane, presiding
elder of Methodist churches in the Neward district (1868-1872) and
the Elizabeth district (1872-1876), and Mary Helen (Peck) Crane,
daughter of a clergyman and niece of Methodist bishop Jesse Truesdell
Peck. Only 8 of the 13 children who preceded Stephen are alive
at the time of his birth. His Revolutionary War namesake (1709-1780)
had served two terms as a delegate from New Jersey to the Continental
Congress in Philadelphia" (1). You might also check the recent
biography by Linda Davis, Badge of Courage. Other information
may be available; please send
responses so that they can be added to this page. |
Lost poems
QUESTION: In Joseph Katz's Edition of Crane's Poems, Katz quotes a letter
from the publishers of The Black Riders, a letter that forces
Crane to omit seven poems. Four are later published but three seem to
be lost. Have they been rediscovered? They are: "A god it is said/Marked
a sparrow's fall" "The traveller paused in kindness" and "Should you
stuff me with flowers." Fred Zinkann 11/23/01 |
Crane apparently destroyed the manuscripts of these poems which
were never published and are now lost.
--Stanley Wertheim |
| Why is the Swede a Swede?
QUESTION: I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if there is some
biographical and/or socio-historical and/or textual reason which
might explain why Crane made the Swede in "The Blue Hotel" a
Swede. Why is he specifically Swedish rather than having
some other background? michael tritt, mtritt@sympatico.ca
3/23/02 |
Crane was very much a creature of
his time when it came to ethnic stereotypes, and madness was often
an attribute of Swedes in the fiction of the last decade of the 19th
century. I have a general essay on Crane's ethnic stereotypes: "Unraveling
The Humanist: Stephen Crane and Ethnic Minorities." American Literary
Realism, 30.3 (1998), 65-75, and there is an older but more specific
essay on the stereotype of Swedes in American literature: Richard
D. Beards, "Stereotyping in Modern American Fiction: Some Solitary
Swedish Madmen." Moderna Sprak 63 (1969): 329-37.
Stanley Wertheim |
| Crane in Maplewood, N.J.?
QUESTION: Can you tell me if Stephen Crane ever visited Maplewood
NJ? A homeowner is advertising the fact that part of the "Red
Badge of Courage" was written in his home. He resides at 304
Elmwood Avenue ( an 1840 home). Please let me know if you have
any information or could direct me to the proper source. Any
consideration would be most appreciated.
Sincerely;
Laura Davis, Philberton@aol.com |
|
| Maggie and Avenue A
QUESTION: I have read that Maggie: Girl of the Streets was written
at least in part on Avenue A in Manhattan. Does anyone know the
address where he lived there? (This is for a website, http://www.nysonglines.com, locating
historical events in New York.)
Jim Naureckas, jkn@nyc.rr.com |
In October 1892 Crane moved
into a rooming house at 1064 Avenue A (formerly Eastern Boulevard)
in Manhattan. The house was inhabited by a group of medical students,
one of whom was Frederic M. Lawrence, a friend from Port Jervis,
with whom Crane shared a room. The medical students sardonically
christened the house, "the Pendennis Club," after Thackary. At this
time, The neighborhood, now occupied by fashionable Sutton Place,
was a slum. Crane's room overlooked the East River and Blackwell's
Island, the setting of the opening scene in Maggie: A Girl of the
Streets, a novelette that he had begun while a student at Syracuse
University and which he now revised with a New York City setting.
Stanley Wertheim |
| Source of Quotation: "The
Colors"?
QUESTION: I was looking for the source of the quote "You cannot
choose your battlefield, the Gods do that for you; but you can
plant a standard, where a standard never flew."
My search found that Stephen Crane wrote it in something called "The
Colors." However, more searching revealed that it might have
been the poet Nathalia Crane, in a work of the same name.
Did Stephen Crane write "The Colors," and is he the source of
this quote? Bill Moyers wants to know!
Thanks in advance for your help.Jim, jsteele4@tampabay.rr.com |
No, Stephen Crane did not write a
poem titled "The Colors." In fact, none of Crane's poems was titled
at all, except by editors. There is a poem titled "The Colors by
Nathalia Crane:
You cannot choose your battlefield,
The gods do that for you,
But you can plant a standard
Where a standard never flew.
Stanley Wertheim |
Crane copyrights?
QUESTION: I am interested in writing some vocal compositions
based on the texts of "The Black Riders." Who do I
need to contact for copywrite clearance? Thanks
Brian Childers, coplandsp@yahoo.com |
Since Stephen Crane has been dead
for over 100 years and Copeland and Day are no longer extant, the
copyright has expired, and you do not need permission to reprint
Crane poems. Copeland & Day standardized Crane's idiosyncratic punctuation
in some of the poems,and it may be best to utilize a scholarly edition
such as that edited by Joseph Katz which restores original punctuation
from manuscript sources. --Stanley Wertheim |
Asbury Park House
I write a daily pieces for web and magazine use called "Today
in Literature -- 500 word pieces on literary events which occurred
on any given day. I try to include interesting sites for the
literary traveler - museums, collections, memorials, etc. I can't
seem to find anything substantial on Stephen Crane House, on
Fourth Ave in Asbury Park: do you know if plans went through
and if it in fact exists, and do you have any contact information
for it? Thanks so much if you can spare the time,
Steve King todayinliterature.com
2/19/03
|
In June of 1883, Crane's mother moved her family from Port Jervis,
New York, to 508 Fourth Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Crane lived
in this house, known as Arbutus Cottage because of the arbutus shrubs
which grew and still grow in its front yard, at various times until
a few months after the death of Mary Helen Crane in December 1891.
Many of his New Jersey shore tales and sketches were written there.
In the late 1980s a group headed by Tom Hayes, at that time head of
the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce, restored and renovated the house.
It is now a private residence. --Stanley Wertheim
2/22/03
|
Crane and Naturalism
I know Crane was one of the first writers to embrace Naturalism,
but I was curious to know if he followed this form of writing
throughout his career? Or was it just a phase he went thru?
Bob F.
2/28/03 |
Unlike Emile Zola, the foremost European exponent of literary
naturalism, Crane did not consider free will and moral character
as illusions. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and George's
Mother depict characters weak in personality development and
apparently below the average in intelligence who are at least partly
destroyed by environmental conditions. But even in these early
slum novelettes, Crane is not a simple determinist. False moral
imperatives and personal misconceptions play as large a part in
undermining the protagonists as external surroundings. In The
Red Badge of Courage and "The Open Boat" Crane stressed
the importance of mental and physical resources to comprehend and
struggle with the circumstances of the external world. His later
work continued to emphasize the naturalistic theme of the importance
of environment in determining human destiny, but he increasingly
focused on individual ability to apprehend reality and even on
sheer chance.
--Stanley Wertheim
3/6/03 |
| Drawings of Crane and Dora Clark
QUESTION: Where/how might I get photocopies of the line drawings
of Crane and Dora Clark that appeared as illustrations to the
articles in the NY City newspapers that covered that incident
and its repercussions?
Philip Paradis, phil.paradis@fuse.net |
The line drawings in New York City newspapers that accompanied
coverage of the Dora Clark affair are generic and undistinguished.
They may easily be obtained by any research library through inter-library
loan of the microfilms of the New York Sun, New York Journal, and
New York Times of 16-17 September 1896, for the story of the arrest
of Dora Clark and Crane's testimony before the magistrate, and
the New York Journal, New York World, and New York News of 16 October
1896, for Crane's testimony as a witness in the hearing of Dora
Clark's charges of false arrest against Patrolmen Charles Becker
and Martin Conway in New York City Police Court.
--Stanley Wertheim |
"A Man Said to the Universe"
I found the following poem attributed to Stephen Crane. Can
you tell me the name of the poem or what collection it is from?
Thank you! A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied
the universe, "The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation."
Rory Noland rorynoland@hotmail.com |
This poem is from War is Kind and Other Lines, which was
published on May 20, 1899, by Copeland and Day. You can find the
text of this or other poems in the volume at warkind.htm
Pictures of the first edition are also available.
The Search
Feature can also be used to specific poems; bring up the
search feature and type in a word or phrase such as "universe."
-- D. Campbell |
| Crane and John Willard Raught
QUESTION: I am looking for any information on Crane's relationship
with the painter John Willard Raught. I believe he visited his
home in Scranton, PA. John Powell jpcoal7@yahoo.com
|
Crane had no relationship with
John Willard Raught, a traditionalist in painting who rejected
the impressionist and modernist modes in art that fascinated Crane.
In mid-May 1894 Crane and the his artist friend Corwin Knapp Linson
traveled to the Scranton, Pennsylvania, area to investigate working
conditions in the coal mines for the McClure syndicate. Crane's
article, "In the Depths of a Coal Mine," illustrated
by Linson, was syndicated by McClure in various newspapers on 22
July 1894 and included in the August 1894 issue of McClure's
Magazine. Raught was an acquaintance of Linson, and Crane wrote
a first draft of his article in the evening of 18th May in Raught's
house in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where he spent the night, but there
is no evidence of a relationship, either personal or artistic,
between Raught and Crane.
--Stanley Wertheim
3/10/03 |
| |
|
| |
|
