Lillian Rozell Messenger
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Lillian Rozell Messenger (, Rozell;
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
, Zena Clifton; c. 1843 or 1853 – October 1, 1921) was an American poet from
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. Among her first acknowledged poems were those brought out in a volume entitled, ''Threads of fate'', 1872. Other volumes included ''Fragments from an old inn'', 1885; ''The Vision of gold'', 1886; and ''The Southern Cross'', 1891. "Columbus" was read by
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of
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during the patriotic celebration at the
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,
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in
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, 1893. "In the heart of America," was read at the
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, in
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, 1895. Messenger contributed many poems to the ''Louisville Journal'',
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papers, and the ''New York Home Journal''. Her most ambitious poems were lengthy, narrative ones, with themes such as "Charlotte Corday" and "Penelope, the Wife of Ulysses". Messenger died in 1921.


Early life and education

Lillian T. Rozell was born in
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
( Milburn; or Millersburg or Ballard County are recorded) in 1843, 1844, or 1853. Her parents, Dr. Francis Overton and Caroline (Cole) Rozell, were
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ns. The father was a physician who was fond of poetry and music. Her paternal grandfather came from
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and settled in Virginia. Her maternal ancestors were of English descent. All of her family were of a melancholy, sensitive, musical temperament; and Messenger was often and suddenly the victim of depressing melancholy. There were at least three siblings, including a sister, Virginia, and brothers, George and John. Messenger moved in early life to
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When she was a young child, she delighted in oratory, in climbing hills, and imitating speakers she had heard, in either prose or verse. When not roaming, she loved to fly a kite and to shoot a bow and arrow. From these early years, she was a poet. From reading poetry, she began to write it herself at an early age. The study of astronomy and natural philosophy dispelled so many fond illusions concerning the mystery of the clouds, that she almost regretted knowledge. Her early education was varied, and her country life made her familiar with nature. Her father died while she was in college. Her education occurred at Forest Hill Seminary, near
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,
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, from which she graduated in 1861. It was here, after her father's death, that her poetry first attracted public attention. Not returning to school after the father's death, she started writing her first verses, the subject being "Night." She was sixteen years old when her first poem was published.


Career

While still a school girl, she began her literary career, being encouraged and introduced by M. C. Galloway, Solon Borland, and Geo. D. Prentice. Colonel M. C. Gallaway was Messenger's "Fidus Achates." Her maiden poetry appeared in the "Memphis Avalanche," under the ''nom de plume'' of "Zena Clifton," but gaining confidence, she began writing under her own signature. In 1861, in
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, she married North Allen Messenger, a native of
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, an editor. Their wedded life was brief, only lasting four years, when the husband died. During the
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, when the Federal troops plundered Tuscumbia, they took a journal of manuscripts, principally lyrics, belonging to Messenger. General Dodge tried to recover it, but did not succeed. For four years she resided at Tuscumbia, devoting her life to rearing her son, North Overton, and to an active literary career. She removed to Arkansas, 1868, and was the first woman elected to membership in the State press association. Later, she removed to
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, where for more than 30 years she was engaged in general literary work. She was one of the charter members of the
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(D.A.R.), and belonged to other patriotic and literary organizations. There were several principal works, including "Disappointment," "Importuning," "Halloween," and "The Southern Cross". "Fragments from an Old Inn" (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons) was a collection of prose and poetry, supposed to embody the heart's history of a beautiful, sad woman whom the author met at an old inn. The prose consisted of short paragraphs, generally embracing a single thought; the poems were brief, with such titles as "Old loves. An old story newly told," " A picture," "Autumn," "Disappointment," and so forth. ''The heroine of the Hudson (and other poems)'' (
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, The Hermitage Press, 1906) was dedicated to the National society, D.A.R. Of "The Vision of Gold," it was said that there was difficulty in detecting the meaning of her rhapsodies, as they were tangled meshes of rhetorical extravagances. "Columbus; or, It Was Morning" was first read on July 4, 1893, before the Woman's Building Congresses of the
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. Messenger was also a successful dramatic reader. She counted music and painting as favored recreations. Lillian Rozell Messenger died in Washington, D.C., October 1, 1921.


Selected works

* 1862, ''In Darkness'' * 1873, ''Threads of Fate'' * 1885, ''Fragments from an Old Inn'' * 1886, ''The Vision of Gold and Other Poems'' * 1891, ''The Southern cross and other poems'' * 1896, ''In the heart of America'' * 1906, ''The Heroine of the Hudson: (and Other Poems)'' * 1914, ''Martha Sawyer Gielow ... A brief resumé of her achievements as author, dramatic reader, and founder of the Southern Industrial Educational Association, ''


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Messenger, Lillian Rozell 19th-century births 1921 deaths 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers Writers from Kentucky American people of French descent American people of English descent Pseudonymous women writers Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century American women poets