Edwin Markham 1
Edwin Markham (Charles Edward Anson Markham) (April 23, 1852 – March 7, 1940) was a poet and the principal of the Tompkins School in Oakland from 1890 (or 1891) until 1899. He was Poet Laureate of Oregon, and is best known for "The Man with the Hoe" and "Lincoln, the Man of the People". The latter was read in 1922 at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Markham Elementary School in Oakland was named in his honor.
While in Oakland, Markham got to know Joaquin Miller, Ina Coolbrith, Bret Harte, and Charles Warren Stoddard. Markham also corresponded with Charmian and Jack London. 1 London wrote the introduction for Upton Sinclair's Cry for Justice (1915), a collection of poetry and prose calling for social justice. The opening poem was Markham's "The Man with the Hoe". (The book also included an excerpt from London's People of the Abyss.) 2
In 1898, Markham married his third wife, Anna Catherine Murphy (Markham) (1859–1938), and in 1899 their son Virgil Markham was born. 1
Links and References
1933 3
- Edwin Markham on Wikipedia
- Jack London: A Writer's Fight For a Better America by Cecelia Tichi, University of North Carolina Press (2015)
-
copl_042 Knowland Neg. 197 Oakland History Center, Oakland Public Library
- Would Succeed Edwin Markham San Francisco Call May 9, 1900
- Poet Markham's Place Filled By Woman San Francisco Call June 9, 1900
- Modern Language Notes, 1943 (saying he started at Tompkins in Spring 1891)
- Edwin Markham in Muckrakers: A Biographical Dictionary of Writers and Editors (saying he started in 1890)
