The Fugitives, also known as the Fugitive Poets, is the name given to a group of poets and literary scholars at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, who published a literary magazine from 1922 to 1925 called ''The Fugitive''.
The group, primarily driven by
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...
,
John Crowe Ransom,
Donald Davidson, and
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...
, formed a major
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
of twentieth century poetry in the United States.
With it, a major period of modern Southern literature began.
Their poetry was formal and featured traditional prosody and concrete imagery often from experiences of the rural
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
.
The group has some overlap with two later movements:
Southern Agrarians
The Southern Agrarians were twelve American Southerners who wrote an agrarian literary manifesto in 1930. They and their essay collection, ''I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition'', contributed to the Southern Renaissance, ...
and
New Criticism
New Criticism was a Formalism (literature), formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of l ...
.
History
About 1920, a group consisting of some influential teachers of literature at Vanderbilt, a few
townies, and some students began meeting on alternate Saturday nights at the home of James Marshall Frank and his brother-in-law
Sidney Mttron Hirsch
Sidney Mttron Hirsch (January 3, 1884 – April 7, 1962) was an American model and playwright. He was a model for sculptors Auguste Rodin and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. He was a member of The Fugitives.
Early life
Sidney Mttron Hirsch was bo ...
on Whitland Avenue in Nashville.
They met as a poetry workshop with no formal connection with the university. After a couple of years, Hirsch felt their poetry was good enough to publish.
According to author Louise Cowan, "...half-seriously Alec Stevenson suggested as a title "''The Fugitive''" after a poem of Hirsch's which had been read and discussed at an earlier meeting."
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...
stated, "...a Fugitive was quite simply a Poet: the Wanderer, or even the
Wandering Jew, the Outcast, the man who carries the secret wisdom around the world".
They published a small literary magazine, ''The Fugitive'' (1922–1925), which showcased their works using
noms de plume at first. Although its publication history was brief, ''The Fugitive'' is considered to be one of the most influential journals in the history of American letters.
The Fugitives embodied all the main influences at work in the
American Literary Renaissance of the twentieth century.
Founders
The group was noted for the number of its members whose works were recognized with a permanent place in the literary canon. Among the most notable Fugitives were
John Crowe Ransom,
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...
,
Merrill Moore,
Donald Davidson,
William Ridley Wills, and
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...
.
The Fugitives and Agrarians
, Vanderbilt University. Other members include Sidney Mttron Hirsch
Sidney Mttron Hirsch (January 3, 1884 – April 7, 1962) was an American model and playwright. He was a model for sculptors Auguste Rodin and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. He was a member of The Fugitives.
Early life
Sidney Mttron Hirsch was bo ...
, Stanley P. Johnson, James M. Frank, Jesse Ely Wills, Walter Clyde Curry, Alec B. Stevenson, William Yandell Elliott
William Yandell Elliott (May 12, 1896January 9, 1979) was an American historian and a political advisor to six U.S. presidents.
Biography
Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he served as an artillery battery commander in World War I. He attended V ...
, and William Frierson. Two of the members (Warren and Tate) later became United States Poets Laureate.
In "The Briar Patch", Robert Penn Warren provided a look at the life of an exploited black person in urban America. "The Briar Patch" was a defense both of segregation, and of the doctrine of "separate but equal," enshrined by '' Plessy v. Ferguson'' (1896). (Warren later recanted the views expressed in "The Briar Patch".) Less closely associated with the Fugitives were the critic Cleanth Brooks
Cleanth Brooks ( ; October 16, 1906 – May 10, 1994) was an American literary critic and professor. He is best known for his contributions to New Criticism in the mid-20th century and for revolutionizing the teaching of poetry in American higher ...
and the poet Laura Riding
Laura Riding Jackson (born Laura Reichenthal; January 16, 1901 – September 2, 1991), best known as Laura Riding, was an American poet, critic, novelist, essayist and short story writer.
Early life and education
She was born in New York Ci ...
.
The Fugitives partly overlapped with a later group, also associated with Vanderbilt, called the Agrarians. Some of the Fugitives were part of the latter group. Another group known as the New Critics
New Criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned a ...
, was a later school that emerged from the Fugitives, named for Ransom's 1941 book, ''The New Criticism''.
Anthologies
The first comprehensive collection of the Fugitives' poetry was published by William C. Pratt, Professor of English at Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
in Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
. Following that, a second anthology was subsequently created after many of the major works were revised. A third anthology, ''The Fugitive poets : Modern Southern Poetry in Perspective'' was published in 1991 by Pratt and included additional works by the original poets.
See also
* Tennessee literature
References
External links
''The Fugitives'' (Public Television Documentary)
Rhodes College.
Vanderbilt University
*
Southern United States literature
20th-century American literature
Allen Tate
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