Florence Earle Coates
| Florence Earle Coates | |
|---|---|
Florence Earle Coates, pre-1916
|
|
| Born |
July 1, 1850 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 6, 1927 (aged 76) Hahnemann Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet Philanthropist |
| Spouse | Edward Hornor Coates |
|
|
|
| Signature |  |
Florence Van Leer Earle Nicholson Coates (July 1, 1850 – April 6, 1927) was an American poet.
She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Granddaughter of noted abolitionist and philanthropist Thomas Earle, and eldest daughter of Philadelphia lawyer and Mrs. Frances ("Fanny") Van Leer Earle, Mrs. Coates gained notoriety both at home and abroad for her works of poetry—nearly three-hundred of which were published in literary magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly, Scribner's Magazine, The Literary Digest, Lippincott's, The Century Magazine, and Harper's. Many of her poems were by composers such as Mrs. H. H. A. Beach (Amy Cheney Beach), Clayton Johns, and Charles Gilbert Spross. She attended school in New England under the instruction of abolitionist and teacher Theodore Dwight Weld, and would further her education abroad at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Paris (Rue de Varenne), and by studying music in Brussels under noted instructors of the day.
"My remembrance of our last visit and of your tulip-trees and maples I shall never lose..."—Matthew Arnold, in a letter to Mrs. Coates
Literary and social critic Matthew Arnold both encouraged and inspired Mrs. Coates' writing of poetry. He was a guest at the Coates' Germantown home when his lecture tours brought him to Philadelphia. Coates and Arnold first met in New York—during Arnold's first visit and lecture tour of America—at the home of Andrew Carnegie, "where they formed a lasting friendship." The tour (which lasted from October 1883 to March 1884) brought Arnold to Philadelphia in December 1883, where he lectured at Association Hall on the topics of the "Doctrine of the Remnant" and on "Emerson." His second visit and tour of America took place in 1886, and brought him to Philadelphia in early June where he was again hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Coates and spoke on the topic of "Foreign Education" at the University of Pennsylvania chapel. Arnold wrote to Mrs. Coates in 1887 and 1888 from his home at Pains Hill Cottage in Cobham, Surrey, England describing his remembrance of and fondness for her "tulip-trees and maples" at her Germantown home, "Willing Terrace." Rarely did Mrs. Coates write or publish prose work, but in April 1894 and again in December 1909, she dedicated her pen to remembrances of her mentor in issues of the Century and Lippincott's magazines respectively.
...
Wikipedia