Page:The South Atlantic Quarterly, Volume 17.djvu/179

 ==A Floridian Poet == Professor of English in Southern College, Sutherland, Florida

Florida, when compared with the states that are better known for both their past and their present contributions to American literature, has but slight claim to recognition as regards its writers. The progress of the state in letters has been hindered by its tardy commercial development. Progress in trade alone is not sufficient to insure literary expression, but it affords a basis for it by giving the leisure that men of letters need in order to pursue their work effectively. Yet it is gratifying to observe that Florida is beginning to manifest its identity in the production of literature, especially in verse. Until comparatively recent years there were practically no native Floridian writers of poetry. Before the advent of a group of native poets there had been poets from other states who had visited Florida and had been thrilled by its beauty and mystery. Among the most prominent of these were Sidney Lanier, a native of Georgia; Madison Cawein, a Kentuckian; Walter Malone, who was born in Mississippi, and Maurice Thompson, of Indiana. It is, then, only in the last decade or two that there have arisen such poets as Mr. Henry G. Barnett, Miss Anne McQueen, and others. These writers are in reality native Floridian poets. As interesting as may be the work of other contemporary writers of verse, it is the aim of this paper to deal chiefly with the poetry of Mr. Henry G. Barnett, whose first published volume entitles him to careful and thoughtful consideration as a representative of the Floridian poets of today.

A summary of the facts of the poet's life is of interest as a preface to a consideration of his work. Henry Green Barnett was born in Leesburg, Florida, December 13, 1890. His father, Robert H. Barnett, also a native of Florida, is a Methodist minister of the Florida Conference. His mother, who was Miss Sarah Epperson, was born in Georgia. Mr.