Alice Corbin Henderson (April 16, 1881 – July 18, 1949) was an American
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
,
author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
and poetry editor.
Early life and education
Alice Corbin was born in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
. Her mother died in 1884 and she was briefly sent to live with her father's cousin Alice Mallory Richardson in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
before returning to her father in
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
after his remarriage in 1891.
Corbin attended the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, and in 1898 published a collection of poetry ''The Linnet Songs.'' In 1904 she rented a studio in the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago, and it was there she met her future husband,
William Penhallow Henderson
William Penhallow Henderson (1877 - 1943) was an American Painting, painter, architect, and furniture designer.
Early life and education
William Penhallow Henderson was born in 1877 in Medford, Massachusetts. His father, William Oliver Henderson ...
, a painter, architect and furniture designer, who was teaching there at the time. They married on October 14, 1905.
Career
In 1912 Henderson's second collection of poems, ''The Spinning Woman of the Sky'', was published, and she became assistant editor to
Harriet Monroe
Harriet Monroe (December 23, 1860 – September 26, 1936) was an American editor, scholar, literary critic, poet, and patron of the arts. She was the founding publisher and long-time editor of ''Poetry'' magazine, which she established in 1912 ...
at ''
Poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
'' magazine. She left Chicago for
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
in 1916, after having been diagnosed with
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
.
She continued working on ''Poetry'' by long distance until 1922.
Like her husband, Henderson was devoted to the people and cultures of
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and the
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
. She published ''Red Earth, Poems of New Mexico'' in 1920 and ''The Turquoise Trail, an Anthology of New Mexico Poetry'' in 1928. During the Depression, Corbin was Editor-in-Chief of the New Mexico Federal Writers' Project. In 1937, Henderson published ''Brothers of Light: The Penitentes of the Southwest'', for which her husband provided the illustrations. The book was reprinted by Yucca Tree Press in 1998 ().
She was also a supporter of
Native Americans civil rights and art. In 1920 she assembled a group of watercolor paintings by
Awa Tsireh
Awa Tsireh (February 1, 1898 – March 30, 1955), also known as Alfonso Roybal and Cattail Bird, was a San Ildefonso Pueblo Painting, painter and artist in several genres including metalwork. He was part of the art movement known as the San ...
for exhibition at the
Arts Club of Chicago
Arts Club of Chicago is a private club and public exhibition space located in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, a block east of the Magnificent Mile, that exhibits international contemporary art. It was founded in 1916, inspired ...
. In 1937, Henderson helped found what is now called the
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medi ...
,
and became its curator.
Legacy
Many of her papers can be found in the
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...
at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
in
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
.
The Santa Fe home of her and her husband, at 555-57 Camino del Monte Sol, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as a contributing building in the
Camino del Monte Sol Historic District
The Camino del Monte Sol Historic District, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The listing included 106 contributing buildings.
It includes some works by arch ...
.
[ With ]
See also
References
External links
Alice Corbin Hendersonat ''PoetryFoundation.org''
Alice Corbin Henderson: An Inventory of Her Collection at the Harry Ransom Centerat the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Alice Corbin
1881 births
1949 deaths
20th-century American poets
20th-century American women writers
American women poets
Poets from Missouri
University of Chicago alumni
Writers from Santa Fe, New Mexico
Writers from St. Louis