David Park Barnitz (June 24, 1878 – October 10, 1901) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

best known for ''The Book of Jade'', a book of Decadent poetry published anonymously in 1901.

Life and work

''The Book of Jade'' was the only volume Barnitz published before his death at age 23. According to ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', the book has remained "renowned among horror readers for the 'ornate morbidity' of its contents". In 2015,

Hippocampus Press Hippocampus Press is an American publisher that specializes in "the works of H. P. Lovecraft and his literary circle". Founded in 1999 and based in New York City, Hippocampus is operated by founder Derrick Hussey. As of 2017, it has issued ove ...

published an expanded edition of ''The Book of Jade'', edited by David E. Schultz and Michael J. Abolafia, which included previously unpublished writings. Barnitz wrote in the Decadent poetry style, drawing inspiration from

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

and

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

poets such as

Thomas Lovell Beddoes Thomas Lovell Beddoes (30 June 1803 – 26 January 1849) 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 ...

Eric Stenbock Graf Eric Stanislaus (or Stanislaus Eric) Stenbock ( – ) was a Baltic region, Baltic Swedes, Swedish poet and writer of macabre fantastic fiction. Life Stenbock was the count of Bogesund and the heir to an estate near Kolga in Estonia. He was ...

, and James Thomson, among others. Barnitz studied under Dr. Carl M. Belser,

Charles Lanman Charles Lanman (June 14, 1819 - March 4, 1895) was an American author, government official, artist, librarian, and explorer. Biography Charles Lanman was born in Monroe, Michigan, on June 14, 1819, the son of Charles J. Lanman, Charles James ...

, and

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

. A classmate of poet

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) 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 an executive for an insurance compa ...

, Barnitz's work reflected his

cynicism Cynic or Cynicism may refer to: Modes of thought * Cynicism (philosophy), a school of ancient Greek philosophy * Cynicism (contemporary), modern use of the word for distrust of others' motives Books * ''The Cynic'', an 1875 book by James Gordon ...

and

misanthropy Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude t ...

. In 1901, Midwest newspapers reported his death as accidental due to an enlarged heart. There was speculation among the public that Barnitz had committed suicide.

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

referred to Park Barnitz as "a vivid Decadent of the ''

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

'' period who modelled his verse on

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, an ...

& killed himself soon after graduation from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

References

External links

*
The Book of Jade
The only comprehensive David Park Barnitz site *
Book Jade New Critical
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnitz, David Park 1878 births 1901 deaths 1901 suicides 19th-century American poets 19th-century American male writers American male poets Decadent literature Harvard University alumni Unsolved deaths in Massachusetts

Life and work

See also

References

External links