Alfred Kreymborg

Alfred Francis Kreymborg(December 10, 1883 – August 14, 1966) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, literary editor and anthologist.

Alfred Kreymborg, circa 1917.

Early life and associations

He was born in New York City to Hermann and Louisa Kreymborg (née Nasher), who ran a small cigar store,and he spent most of his life there and inNew Jersey.He was an active figure inGreenwich Villageand frequented the Liberal Club.

He was the first literary figure to be included inAlfred Stieglitz's291circle,and was briefly associated with theFerrer CenterwhereMan Raywas studying underRobert Henri.From1913to1914,Kreymborg and Man Ray worked together to bring out ten issuesof the first of Kreymborg's prominentmodernistmagazines:The Glebe.Ezra Pound– who had heard aboutThe Glebefrom Kreymborg's friendJohn Cournos– sent Kreymborg the manuscript ofDes Imagistesin the summer of 1913and this famous first anthology ofImagismwas published as the fifth issue ofThe Glebe

The cover of the first edition of Kreymborg'sMushrooms(1916): a book of free verse tone-poems

In 1913 Man Ray andSamuel Halpert,another of Henri's students, started an artist's colony inRidgefield, New Jersey.This colony was often also referred to as 'Grantwood' and comprised a number of clapboard shacks on a bluffon theHudson PalisadesoppositeGrants Tomb,across theHudson Riverin Manhattan. Kreymborg moved to Ridgefield and launchedOthers: A Magazine of the New VersewithSkipwith Cannell,Wallace Stevens,andWilliam Carlos Williamsin 1915. Pound had, along with theDes Imagistespoems, written to Kreymborg suggesting that he contact 'old Bull' Williams,that isWilliam Carlos Williams.Williams did not live far from Ridgefield, and he became involved in the magazine. Soon there was agroup of artistsassociated with the magazine.Marianne Moorecame to Ridgefield for picnics, and from 1915Marcel Duchampoccasionally visited.RegardingMarianne Moore,when asked whether Kreymborg was her American discoverer, she replied, "It could be said, perhaps; he did all he could to promote me. Miss Monroe and the Aldingtons had asked me simultaneously to contribute toPoetryandThe Egoistin 1915. Alfred Kreymborg was not inhibited. I was a little different from the others. He thought that I might pass as a novelty, I guess. "

1915 also saw the publication of a story in part based on a personal experience. The story was titled 'Edna' and published asEdna: The Girl of the Street;by the Greenwich Village entrepreneurGuido Bruno;the subtitle was Bruno's idea, added without the consent of the author.John S. Sumnerof theNew York Society for the Suppression of Viceraised a stir; there was a court case which led to Bruno's imprisonment. The attendant morals row drew inGeorge Bernard ShawandFrank Harris:Harris made an impassioned statement in court defending the publisher.

Kreymborg was lifelong friends withCarl Sandburg,each independently choosing to write infree verse.Kreymborg's poems, or 'mushrooms', had seldom made it into print, but in 1916, soon after his move to Ridgefield they were brought out in book form byJohn Marshallas 'Mushrooms: A Book of Free Forms' and Williams praised them as a "triumph for America".

Kreymborg spent a year touring the United States, mostly visiting universities, reading his poetry — including atThe Sunwise Turnin New York, an early supporter of his work — while accompanying himself on amandolute.

1920s

Kreymborg continued to editOtherssomewhat erratically until 1919;he then in June 1921 sailed to Europeto act as co-editor ofBroom, An International Magazine of the Arts(along withHarold Loeb).Contributors includedMalcolm Cowley,E. E. Cummings,Amy LowellandWalter de la Mare.The magazine lost money. Kreymborg soon resigned and the magazine ceased publication in 1924.An ironic anecdote on the status of modernism: Kreymborg arranged for an aspiring artistFernand Légerto create the artwork for the cover of volume 2, number 4 ofBroom.WhenBroomceased publication, the original painting was left behind for its next tenants. Original works by Léger from that time period have sold for several million dollars.

Kreymborg's poems appeared inThe Dialin 1923.

In the summer of 1925, Kreymborg was staying in Lake George Village, and happened to meetPaul Rosenfeldwho was staying with Stieglitz. In one late night discussion Kreymborg and Rosenfeld lamented the disappearance of various literary magazines, includingBroom.Another neighbor,Samuel Ornitzappeared and offered financial backing for an annual book of new writing. Thus Kreymborg and Rosenfeld foundedAmerican Caravan,which was to be edited byLewis MumfordandVan Wyck Brooks.The Second American Caravan,was edited by Kreymborg, Mumford, and Rosenfeld; it was reviewed theDecember 1928 issue ofThe Dial.

1925 also saw the publication of his autobiographyTroubadour,in which he refers to himself in the third person by the nicknames "Ollie" and "Krimmie". Among other things, the book narrate Kreymborg's courtship of and marriage to Gertrude Lord ( "Christine" ) and their amicable separation one year later on account of Gertrude's attachment to the American artistCarl Schmitt( "Charles" ).(His play "The Silent Waiter," loosely based on his first marriage, was performed by NYC's Metropolitan Playhouse in a virtual livestreamed production on March 13, 2021, with commentary.) It also tells of his second marriage to Dorothy ( "Dot" ) Bloom.

In 1929,Random Housechose him to be one of the poets to appear inThe Poetry Quartos,proposed byPaul Johnston.Kreymborg contributed the poem, "Body and Stone." He also contributed a short story toThe Prose Quartos,published by Random House in 1930.

1930s and later

In 1938 Kreymborg's verse drama for radioThe Planets: A Modern Allegorywas broadcast byNBCand received such an enthusiastic response from the public that it was repeated a few weeks later.

Kreymborg maintained a long-term connection withAlfred Stieglitzprimarily because of Kreymborg's relationship withHugo Knudsen,who invented some of the early photo-printing processes that Stieglitz utilized. Knudsen and Kreymborg married sisters Beatrice (Bea) and Dot Bloom (respectively).

Other interests

He also wrote puppet plays (his most famous beingManikin MinikinandLima Beans), which he performed with his wife, Dot, while touring the United States. PuppeteerOlive Blackhamof Roel Puppets made the mannequins forLima Beans.

Kreymborg played chess at a near-professional level; he was recognized as a National Master standard player in his youth.Ontwo occasionshe played and lost toJosé Capablanca,including a defeat in 1910 due to a mix-up in hisendgameHe drewone gamewith the U.S. ChampionFrank Marshallin the 1911 Masters Tournament, but shortly afterward left the chess world after a stunning defeat byOscar Chajes,returning to the sport roughly 23 years later. He wrote the article 'Chess Reclaims a Devotee', which is semi-autobiographical and also based onCharles Jaffe;the story is well known in chess circles.

Kreymborg was very close with sculptorAlexander "Sandy" Calder.

Due to his knack of "discovering" and publishing some of the most important poets during his time, Kreymborg later became president of thePoetry Society of America.

Critical views

Kreymborg later became a relatively conservative poet, but – according toJulian Symons– "never an interesting one"

InNamedropping,Richard Elmanwrites a short chapter about a meeting with Kreymborg in the early 1960s.

Works

Maxim Lieberwas Kreymborg's literary agent in 1947.

• Love and Life and Other Studies(1908)
• Apostrophes: A Book of Tributes to Masters of Music(1910)
• Erna Vitek(1914) novel
• Edna: The Girl of the Street(1915)[1]PDF of 1919 edition with G. B. Shaw contribution
• To My Mother 10 Rhythms(1915)
• Mushrooms: A Book of Free Forms(1916) poems, as 1915Mushrooms 16 Rhythmsin Bruno Chap Books
• Others: An Anthology of the New Verse(1916) editor
• Others: An Anthology of the New Verse(1917) editor
• Six Plays for Poem-Mimes(1918)
• Blood of Things: A Second Book of Free Forms(1920)
• Others for 1919: An Anthology of the New Verse(1920)
• Plays for Merry Andrews(1920)
• Less Lonely(1923)
• Puppet Plays(1923)
• Troubadour(1925) autobiography
• Lima Beans. A Scherzo Play in One Act(1925)
• Rocking Chairs and Other Comedies(1925)
• Manikin and Minikin(1925)
• Scarlet and Mellow(1926)
• There's a Moon Tonight(1926) comedy
• The American Caravan(1927), yearbook, editor withLewis Mumford,Van Wyck BrooksandPaul Rosenfeld,later years also
• Funnybone Alley(1927)
• The Lost Sail, A Cape Cod Diary(1928)
• Alfred Kreymborg(1928) The Pamphlet Poets
• Manhattan Men: Poems and Epitaphs(1929) poems
• Body and Stone: A Song Cycle(1929)
• Our Singing Strength, An Outline of American Poetry, 1620 - 1930(1929) also later in 1934
• An Anthology of American Poetry Lyric: America 1630–1930(1930) anthology, later editions are supplemented
• Prologue in Hell(1930)
• I'm Not Complaining: A Kaffeeklatsch(1932)
• The Little World. 1914 and After(1932)
• I'm No Hero(1933)
• How Do You Do Sir? And Other Short Plays(1934)
• Anthology of One-Act Plays 1937-38(1938) editor
• The Planets: A Modern Allegory(1938)
• Two New Yorkers(1938) editorStanley Burnshaw,illustrated byAlexander Kruse
• The Four Apes and Other Fables of Our Day(1939)
• Poetic Drama: An Anthology of Plays in Verse(1941) editor
• Ten American Ballads(1942)
• Selected Poems 1912 to 1944(1945)
• Man and Shadow: An Allegory(1946) poems
• The Poetry Society of America Anthology(1946) editor withAmy Bonnerand others
• No More War: An Ode to Peace(1949)
• No More War and other poems(1950)

References

Bibliography

• Bochner, Jay (1992). "The Glebe". In Edward E. Chielens (ed.).American Literary Magazines: The Twentieth Century.Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Brandon, Ruth(1999).Surreal Lives: The Surrealists 1917–1945.Grove Press.ISBN0-8021-3727-X.
• Carpenter, Humphrey(1987).Geniuses Together: American Writers in Paris in the 1920s.Unwin Hyman.ISBN0-04-440067-5.
• Churchill, Suzanne (1998). "Making Space for Others: A History of a Modernist Little Magazine".Journal of Modern Literature.22(1).
• Eisler, Benita (1991).O'Keeffe and Stieglitz: An American Romance.Doubleday.ISBN0-14-017094-4.
• Kenner, Hugh(1972).The Pound Era.Faber and Faber.ISBN0-571-10668-4.
• Silberman, Vanessa (May 1, 2002)."Christie's in London recently celebrated a record-breaking, $104-million week and broke six world records for individual artists – the best week the London auction house has had for more than a decade".Art Business News.Archived fromthe originalon May 4, 2016.
• Stansell, Christine(2000).American Moderns: Bohemian New York and the Creation of a New Century.Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt & Co.ISBN0-8050-4847-2.
• Symons, Julian(1987).Makers of the New: The Revolution in Literature, 1912–1939.André Deutsch.ISBN0-233-98007-5.

External links

• Works by Alfred KreymborgatProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about Alfred Kreymborgat theInternet Archive
• Works by Alfred KreymborgatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)
• Edward Winter,Alfred Kreymborg and Chess
• Index entry for Alfred Kreymborg at Poets' Corner
• 1921 passport photo, Alfred and Dorothy Kreymborg