28 Facts About Fitz-Greene Halleck

Fitz-Greene Halleck was an American poet and member of the Knickerbocker Group.

Fitz-Greene Halleck's poetry was popular and widely read but later fell out of favor.

Fitz-Greene Halleck had an older sister Marie, and his father owned a store in the town.

At the age of two, the young Fitz-Greene Halleck experienced hearing loss when two soldiers fired off their guns next to his left ear; he was partially deaf for the remainder of his life.

Fitz-Greene Halleck was a favorite of Johnson, who gave him a copy of Thomas Campbell's first book of poems, The Pleasures of Hope, which was Fitz-Greene Halleck's first personal book.

Fitz-Greene Halleck left school at 15 to work in his family's shop in Guilford.

In May 1811, the 20-year-old Fitz-Greene Halleck moved to New York City to find work.

Fitz-Greene Halleck worked for Barker for the next 20 years.

Fitz-Greene Halleck began to write with his friend Joseph Rodman Drake.

That year, Fitz-Greene Halleck wrote his longest poem Fanny, a satire on the literature, fashions, and politics of the time.

Two years later, its continuing popularity inspired Fitz-Greene Halleck to append an additional 50 stanzas.

Fitz-Greene Halleck commemorated his friend in "The Death of Joseph Rodman Drake", which begins, "Green be the turf above thee".

Fitz-Greene Halleck showed interest in having Halleck as her second husband.

Fitz-Greene Halleck's satires included her as a figure, and in one he referred to her as a witch.

In 1822, Fitz-Greene Halleck visited Europe and Great Britain, which influenced his poetry.

In 1827 Fitz-Greene Halleck published a collection, Alnwick Castle, with Other Poems, but after that his writing decreased.

In 1832, Fitz-Greene Halleck was hired as the private secretary to John Jacob Astor.

Fitz-Greene Halleck served as Astor's cultural tutor, advising him on pieces of art to purchase.

Fitz-Greene Halleck's satires were thought to challenge the era's "sacred institutions" and Halleck was known for his wit and charm.

Fitz-Greene Halleck often turned down requests for public appearances in his later years, and he complained about being pestered by "frequent appeals for letters to hard-hearted editors".

When people named children after him, Fitz-Greene Halleck seemed annoyed rather than honored.

Fitz-Greene Halleck wrote, "I am favored by affectionate fathers with epistles announcing that their eldest-born has been named after me, a calamity that costs me a letter of profound gratefulness".

Fitz-Greene Halleck found that Halleck was enamored at the age of 19 with a young Cuban named Carlos Menie, to whom he dedicated a few of his early poems.

Hallock suggests that Fitz-Greene Halleck was in love with his friend Joseph Rodman Drake.

Fitz-Greene Halleck was poor, as poets, of course, always are, and offered himself a sacrifice at the shrine of Hymen to shun the 'pains and penalties' of poverty.

Fitz-Greene Halleck's wife was good natured, and loves him to distraction.

Fitz-Greene Halleck had several years in which he did not produce any literary works.

Since the later 20th century, Fitz-Greene Halleck's poetry has been studied for its homosexual themes, and for what it reveals about the social world of the nineteenth century.