 Sidney Lanier poem "The Power of Prayer"
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteSidney Lanier (1842-1881) was an American musician and poet whose verse often suggests the rhythms and thematic development of music. Lanier was reared by devoutly religious parents in the traditions of the Old South. As a child he wrote verses and was especially fond of music. After graduation in 1860 from Oglethorpe College (now University), Atlanta, Ga., he served in the Civil War until his capture and subsequent imprisonment at Point Lookout, Md., where he contracted tuberculosis. In 1867 he married Mary Day, also of Macon; and in the same year he published his first book, the novel Tiger-Lilies, a mixture of German philosophy, Southern traditional romance, and his own war experiences. After working in his father's law office at Macon, teaching school at Prattville, Ala., and traveling for his health in Texas, he accepted in 1873 a position as first flutist in the Peabody Orchestra, Baltimore. With numerous poems already published in magazines, he wrote several potboilers and played private concerts and delivered lectures to small groups. He died in 1881 in Lynn, N. C. from advanced tuberculosis. Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www.britannica.com (Retrieved December 18, 2008) For more information, see the article Sidney Lanier (1842-1881) in the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Scope and ContentThe collection consists of the manuscript copy of Sidney Lanier's dialect poem, "The Power of Prayer (Or The First Steamboat Up the Alabama)". The manuscript is signed on page 5 "Sidney and Clifford Lanier" but is actually in the autograph of neither. An address, "195 Dean St. Brooklyn, N. Y.", is given in the upper left hand corner of page 1. The five-page poem is mounted on 10 inch x 12 inch sheets and bound in maroon cloth-covered boards. Also bound in is a contemporary engraving of Sidney Lanier. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationSidney Lanier poem, "The Power of Prayer", MS 1320. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject Terms | ||||||||||||||||||