David Park Barnitz
Encyclopedia
David Park Barnitz was an American poet
, best known for his 1901 volume the Book of Jade, a classic of decadent poetry. In 1901, San Francisco bookseller William Doxey, publisher of the popular humorist Gelett Burgess, as well as many obscure, macabre, (and sometimes decadent) authors, came to New York City
. Two years before, his publishing enterprise, called “At the Sign of the Lark”, had gone bankrupt. By February 1901, Doxey’s new venture was bankrupt once again, but not before he had published —at its author’s insistence, anonymously— a little-known masterpiece of decadent and nihilistic
verse, entitled, simply, The Book of Jade.
Later that autumn, mid-west newspapers were reporting the sudden death of a 23-year-old Harvard graduate and Orientalist
scholar, David Park Barnitz (1878–1901), who was, the obituaries said, the anonymous author of “a volume of poems...which was spoken of as of unusual merit.” That book was The Book of Jade ― one of the poems from The Book of Jade having been published in the Overland Monthly in March, 1901, under a new title, but under Park Barnitz’s own name. And while the newspapers were saying that Barnitz had died accidentally, of an “enlarged heart”, it was soon being whispered that Barnitz had actually killed himself.
A student of such luminaries as Dr. Carl M. Belser, Prof. Charles Lanman, and Prof. William James — “a student so intense in his application”, the Lutheran papers wrote, “that Professor James of Harvard pronounced him brilliant”— Park Barnitz earned his A.M. (the equivalent of a PhD) at the age of twenty-one, at which time Barnitz was also admitted to membership of the American Oriental Society ¾“his name being suggested by Prof. Lanman, and was the youngest person ever admitted.” In The Book of Jade, in the poem “Harvard: On His Twenty-First Year”, Barnitz caricatured these instructors, writing of how “Professors sit on lofty stools upcurl’d,/Through Yankee noses drooling all day long;/ I find all these things quite ridiculous.”
It was in the realm of poetry, though, rather than Asian Studies, where Barnitz truly left his mark ―Barnitz adopting the decadent style to create a monument of unrelieved and unrelenting oblivionist verse, fit to take its place alongside the works of such other gothic
and macabre anti-luminaries as Thomas Lovell Beddoes
, Count Stenbock, James Thomson (B.V.), H. P. Lovecraft
, and the German Bonaventura. A classmate of fellow poet Wallace Stevens
, Park Barnitz was a visionary who prefigured modernism
in his adoption of new paradigms and literary styles as a form of mask. And the mask which Barnitz adopted, that of the decadents, fitted his intellectual cynicism and misanthropy
precisely. The decadents, Barnitz wrote, though they “do not lecture at Harvard”, “seem to me the most delightful of contemporary French writers.” “All these slaves of the opal,” Barnitz goes on, “as one of their obscurest members proclaims them, with their one great man (Verlaine
) and their hundred pathetic poets, it is surely a fitting thing to admire. ‘How nice of them,’ one feels like saying, ‘to be so dear!’ They have not produced a new art, but they have amused.”
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, best known for his 1901 volume the Book of Jade, a classic of decadent poetry. In 1901, San Francisco bookseller William Doxey, publisher of the popular humorist Gelett Burgess, as well as many obscure, macabre, (and sometimes decadent) authors, came to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Two years before, his publishing enterprise, called “At the Sign of the Lark”, had gone bankrupt. By February 1901, Doxey’s new venture was bankrupt once again, but not before he had published —at its author’s insistence, anonymously— a little-known masterpiece of decadent and nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
verse, entitled, simply, The Book of Jade.
Later that autumn, mid-west newspapers were reporting the sudden death of a 23-year-old Harvard graduate and Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
scholar, David Park Barnitz (1878–1901), who was, the obituaries said, the anonymous author of “a volume of poems...which was spoken of as of unusual merit.” That book was The Book of Jade ― one of the poems from The Book of Jade having been published in the Overland Monthly in March, 1901, under a new title, but under Park Barnitz’s own name. And while the newspapers were saying that Barnitz had died accidentally, of an “enlarged heart”, it was soon being whispered that Barnitz had actually killed himself.
A student of such luminaries as Dr. Carl M. Belser, Prof. Charles Lanman, and Prof. William James — “a student so intense in his application”, the Lutheran papers wrote, “that Professor James of Harvard pronounced him brilliant”— Park Barnitz earned his A.M. (the equivalent of a PhD) at the age of twenty-one, at which time Barnitz was also admitted to membership of the American Oriental Society ¾“his name being suggested by Prof. Lanman, and was the youngest person ever admitted.” In The Book of Jade, in the poem “Harvard: On His Twenty-First Year”, Barnitz caricatured these instructors, writing of how “Professors sit on lofty stools upcurl’d,/Through Yankee noses drooling all day long;/ I find all these things quite ridiculous.”
It was in the realm of poetry, though, rather than Asian Studies, where Barnitz truly left his mark ―Barnitz adopting the decadent style to create a monument of unrelieved and unrelenting oblivionist verse, fit to take its place alongside the works of such other gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
and macabre anti-luminaries as Thomas Lovell Beddoes
Thomas Lovell Beddoes
Thomas Lovell Beddoes was an English poet, dramatist and physician.- Biography :Born in Clifton, Bristol, England, he was the son of Dr. Thomas Beddoes, a friend of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Anna, sister of Maria Edgeworth. He was educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Oxford...
, Count Stenbock, James Thomson (B.V.), H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, and the German Bonaventura. A classmate of fellow poet Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
, Park Barnitz was a visionary who prefigured modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in his adoption of new paradigms and literary styles as a form of mask. And the mask which Barnitz adopted, that of the decadents, fitted his intellectual cynicism and misanthropy
Misanthropy
Misanthropy is generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt or hatred of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings...
precisely. The decadents, Barnitz wrote, though they “do not lecture at Harvard”, “seem to me the most delightful of contemporary French writers.” “All these slaves of the opal,” Barnitz goes on, “as one of their obscurest members proclaims them, with their one great man (Verlaine
Verlaine
Verlaine is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Verlaine had a total population of 3,507. The total area is 24.21 km² which gives a population density of 145 inhabitants per km². The municipality contains the villages...
) and their hundred pathetic poets, it is surely a fitting thing to admire. ‘How nice of them,’ one feels like saying, ‘to be so dear!’ They have not produced a new art, but they have amused.”
External links
- The Book of Jade The only comprehensive David Park Barnitz site