Lexie Dean Robertson (July 25, 1893 – February 16, 1954) was an American teacher and award-winning Poet Laureate of Texas from 1939 to 1941.

Biography

She grew up in

Canton, Texas Canton is a city in and the county seat of Van Zandt County in East Texas, United States. It is located about 40 miles west of Tyler. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 4,229. The city sustained severe damage on April 29, ...

, the daughter of teachers, and married a fellow student at North Texas State Normal College (today the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

), J. F. Robertson, in 1911. The couple settled in Rising Star in 1920. Robertson was the first native-born Texan to hold the position of Poet Laureate of Texas; among the publications which featured her work were '' Kaleidograph'', ''

Southwest Review The ''Southwest Review'' is a literary journal published quarterly at Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1915 as the ''Texas Review'', it is the third oldest literary quarterly in the United States. The current ed ...

'', ''

Holland's Magazine ''Holland's Magazine'' (originally known as ''Street's Weekly'', also known as ''Holland's: The Magazine of the South'') was a magazine published from 1876 to 1953. It was a women's magazine that published recipes, fashion tips, gardening tips, ...

'', ''

Country Gentleman ''The Country Gentleman'' (1852–1955) was an American agricultural magazine founded in 1852 in Albany, New York, by Luther Tucker.Frank Luther Mott (1938A History of American Magazines 1850–1865"The Country Gentleman", page 432, Harvard Univ ...

'', ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

'', and ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...

''. Robertson was a charter member of the

Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most resp ...

, whose president she became in 1944; she was also a member of both the

Poetry Society of America Poetry (from the Greek word '' poiesis'', "making") is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings. Any partic ...

and

Texas Federation of Women's Clubs The Texas Federation of Women's Clubs (TFWC) is a non-profit women's organization in Texas which was founded in 1897. The purpose of the group is to create a central organization for women's clubs and their members in Texas relating to education, ...

. She served as vice president of the Poetry Society of Texas, and during her writing career she won every prize the society offered. Robertson never had any children. She was a Methodist and a democrat.

Legacy

Robertson died on February 16, 1954. She was buried in

Rising Star, Texas Rising Star is a town in Eastland County, Texas, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 756. Geography Rising Star is located in southwestern Eastland County. U.S. Route 183 passes through the town, leading north to Cisco and ...

. After her death, the Poetry Society of Texas established the Lexie Dean Robertson Award in her honor.

Selected publications

*''Red Heels'' (Dallas: Southwest Press,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

) *''I Keep a Rainbow'' (

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

) *''Acorn on the Roof'' (

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

) *''Answer in the Night'' (

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

)

References

Handbook of Texas Online entry
*Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition 1893 births 1954 deaths People from Lindale, Texas University of North Texas alumni 20th-century American poets 20th-century American educators Poets laureate of Texas American women poets 20th-century American women writers People from Rising Star, Texas People from Canton, Texas Educators from Texas {{US-poet-1890s-stub