| 1891 - 1911 |
| Year | John Neihardt - Singular Epic Poet of America 1881 - 1973 | Photos | |||
| 1891 | The Neihardt family moved to Wayne, Nebraska, and John during a high fever had a propelling vision that convinced him he must write poetry. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science at age sixteen and then finished his first book, The Divine Enchantment, a volume of poetry inspired by the sacred texts of India. Neihardt taught rural school for two terms, then moved to Bancroft, Nebraska, where he worked among the Omaha Indians. He edited the weekly Bancroft Blade for several years, then devoted his time to writing fiction and lyric verse with increasing national success. Selected poetry |
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| 1906
1911 | In 1907 Neihardt spent an enchanted summer in The Black Hills. His next effort A Bundle of Myrrh was a series of romantic poems that won him the affection of critics and his wife to be, Mona Martinsen. She was a sculpting student of Auguste Rodin in Paris and was love struck by Neihardt's poetry. Mona and John corresponded for one year before she came to marry him. He bought their marriage license the day before he saw her face he once remarked. The pair became known as the poet and the artist of Bancroft.
The River and I used metaphoric imagery to describe his open boat navigation of the Missouri River some 2,000 miles, from Fort Benton, Montana to Sioux City, Iowa. |
".... This cruel, invulnerable, restless giant.... This yellow, sinous beast with hell broth slavering from its jaws!... This dare-devil boy-god that sauntered along with a town in its pocket, and a steepled church under its arm for a moment's toy." The Great Missouri River became a sign post of spirit life for Neihardt's life. |
