Arthur Davison Ficke (November 10, 1883 – November 30, 1945) was an American poet, playwright, and expert of Japanese art. Ficke had a national reputation as "a poet's poet", and "one of America's most expert sonneteers". Under the alias Anne Knish, Ficke co-authored ''Spectra'' (1916). Intended as a spoof of the experimental verse which was fashionable at the time, the collection of strange poems unexpectedly caused a sensation among

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

critics which eclipsed Ficke's recognition as a traditional prose stylist. Ficke is also known for his relationship with poet

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

. After several years of illness, Ficke committed suicide in 1945.

Biography

A native of Davenport, Iowa, Ficke is associated with other local writers known as the Davenport group. His work was influenced by Japanese artistic traditions, which he had been familiar with since childhood; his father, an art dealer, imported Japanese art in the last decade of the nineteenth century, when it was extremely popular. Ficke wrote several popular treatises on Japanese art during his career, among them ''Chats on Japanese Prints'', published in 1915. Parker-Ficke House

Sticking to traditional styles and forms when

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

was dominating the world of literature and poets were prone to experimentation, Ficke was noted for being "in the best sense a conservative force in our poetry."Floyd Dell, "The Ficke Wing," Measure, no. 42 (August 1924) : 13. Much of his early work was in traditional meter and rhyme scheme; ''Sonnets of a Portrait-Painter'' (1914) is a noteworthy example. Ficke was displeased by what he saw as the inaesthetic nature of contemporary experimentation, which was the main motivation for the Spectra hoax, intended as a satire of modern poetry. His collaborators on the Spectra hoax were fellow poets

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures the ...

(writing as 'Emanuel Morgan') and

Marjorie Allen Seiffert Marjorie Allen Seiffert (February 15, 1885 – January 1, 1970) was an American poet and winner of the 1919 Levinson Prize for Poetry. She used several pseudonyms over the course of her career, including Angela Cypher for some of her lighter verse ...

(writing as 'Elijah Hay'). Ironically, his experience writing Spectra influenced him to begin experimenting with other forms; ''Christ in the Desert'' was his first more modernistic work, without traditional meter or rhyme scheme.

Partial bibliography

Poetry *(1907) ''From the Isles: A Series of Songs out of Greece'' *(1907) ''The Happy Princess, and Other Poems'' *(1908) ''The Earth Passion, Boundary, and Other Poems'' *(1910) ''Some Recent Poems of Note'' *(1914) ''Sonnets of a Portrait-Painter'' *(1915) ''The Man on the Hilltop, and Other Poems'' *(1916) ''Spectra: A Book of Poetic Experiments''; as Anne Knish, with

as Emanuel Morgan *(1917) ''An April Elegy'' *(1924) ''Out of Silence, and Other Poems'' *(1926) ''Selected Poems'' *(1927) ''Christ in China: A Poem'' *(1929) ''Mountain against Mountain'' *(1936) ''The Secret, and Other Poems'' *(1942) ''Tumultuous Shore, and Other Poems'' Plays *(1910) ''The Breaking of Bonds: A Drama of the Social Unrest'' *(1913) ''Mr. Faust'' *(1930) ''The Road to the Mountain: A Lyrical Pageant in Three Acts'' *(1951) ''The Ghost of Sharaku'' Novels *(1939) ''Mrs. Morton of Mexico'' Non-fiction *(1913)
Twelve Japanese Painters
' ia HathiTrust*(1915) ''Chats on Japanese Prints''

References

External links

* * *
Biography and bibliography of Ficke
by

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ru ...

Twins in My Cradle: Arthur Davison Ficke, Iowa Poet

Famous Iowans: Arthur Davison Ficke (Des Moines Register)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150328094939/http://theamericanreader.com/19-october-1921-edna-st-vincent-milay-to-arthur-davison-ficke/ 1921 private letter to Ficke from Millay
Arthur Davison Ficke Papers
at

Yale University Library The Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Originating in 1701 with the gift of several dozen books to a new "Collegiate School," the library's collection now contains approximately 14.9 mill ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ficke, Arthur Davison 20th-century American poets 1883 births 1945 suicides Writers from Davenport, Iowa Poets from Iowa 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American novelists Modernist theatre Harvard University alumni American male poets American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Iowa Suicides in New York (state)

Biography

Partial bibliography

Further reading

References

External links