Aloysius Michael Sullivan (August 9, 1896 in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the 202 ...

– June 10, 1980 in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

) was a

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poet, magazine editor, radio announcer and author of books on business ethics and philosophy. He is best known for his collection of poems, ‘’Songs of the Musconetcong’’, published in 1968.

Life

A.M. Sullivan grew up in the northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

mining town of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His formal education ended with his graduation from St. Benedict’s Prep School in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

in 1913. In 1919, he married Catherine Veronica McNamee and remained with her until her death in 1968. They had two daughters, Catherine and Mary Rose. The couple lived in

St. Albans, New York St. Albans is a residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Jamaica to the northwest, Hollis to the north, Queens Village to the northeast, Cambria Heights to the east, Laurelton t ...

until moving to

in 1953. Throughout this time, they summered in an 1840s house on the

Musconetcong River The Musconetcong River is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It flows through ...

near

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 10,248. Hackettstown was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 9, 1853, from portions of Inde ...

. This river and the wooded hills of northern New Jersey provided much of the inspiration for his poetry, which drew heavily on themes of nature. Proud of his Irish heritage, Mr. Sullivan was a board member of the Irish-American Historical Society. He made several trips to Ireland throughout his later life and became proficient in

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. In recognition of his literary achievement, A.M. Sullivan received honorary doctorates from

Montclair State College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

and

St. Edward's University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC ...

. Many of his papers and a collection of his poetry books are held at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. He died in Montclair on June 10, 1980.

Career

After a series of odd jobs, Sullivan went to work for the

Submarine Boat Corporation Submarine Boat Company (Submarine Boat Corporation) was a large-scale World War I ship manufacturing shipyard, located at Newark, New Jersey's Port of Newark. Submarine Boat Company operated as a subsidiary of the Electric Boat Company, now G ...

Port Newark, New Jersey A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

in 1917 where he began the company’s in-house magazine, ‘’Speed Up’’. In 1932, Sullivan joined

Dun & Bradstreet The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financia ...

and soon moved into the position of Advertising and Public Relations Director. Later, he became editor of ''Dun’s Review and Modern Industry'' to which he contributed articles related to business ethics, philosophy and management style. During this same period, he continued to write and publish works of poetry. Sullivan retired from Dun and Bradstreet in 1971.

Poetry

Sullivan's first collection of poems, ''Sonnets of a Simpleton'' was published in 1924. He went on to publish thirteen volumes of poetry through 1970. A. M. Sullivan's poetry reflects his broad interests, which included nature, technology, history, religion and science. Many of his poems have appeared in textbooks, magazines, audio recordings, radio chorale and films. From 1932 to 1940, A.M. Sullivan hosted ''The New Poetry Hour'' on WOR radio in New York City. This program was broadcast on the

Mutual Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

and featured live interviews and readings with over 300 poets and writers, including Edgar Lee Masters,

Padraic Colum Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival. Early life Col ...

, Stephen Vincent Benét,

William Rose Benét William Rose Benét (February 2, 1886 – May 4, 1950) was an American poet, writer, and editor. He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét. Early life and education He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét a ...

Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thin ...

John Hall Wheelock John Hall Wheelock (September 9, 1886 – March 22, 1978) was an American poet. He was a descendant of Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth College. The son of William Efner Wheelock and Emily Charlotte Hall,Harriet Monroe Harriet Monroe (December 23, 1860 – September 26, 1936) was an American editor, scholar, literary critic, poet, and patron of the arts. She was the founding publisher and long-time editor of ''Poetry'' magazine, first published in 1912. As a ...

MacKinlay Kantor MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded th ...

and many others. Sullivan was medaled by the Poetry Society of America on two occasions (1941 and 1976) and served as president for five terms. He was a member of The Craftsmen, a poetry society in New York City, President of the Catholic Poetry Society and a recipient of the Alexander Droushkoy Memorial Gold Medal (1951). One of his collections of poems, ''Songs of the Musconetcong'', was honored by a resolution of the New Jersey State Senate in 1968 and a biographical film of the same name was made and broadcast by New Jersey Public Television in 1979.

Bibliography

* ''Sonnets of a Simpleton'', 1924 * ''Progression and Other Poems'', 1928 * ''Elbows of the Wind'', 1932' * ''New Jersey Hills'', 1940 * ''Ballad of a Man Named Smith'', 1940 * ''A Day in Manhattan'', 1941 * ''The Three Dimensional Man'', 1956 * ''This Day and Age'', 1943 * ''Stars and Atoms – Poems of Science and Industry'', 1946 * ''Tim Murphy, Morgan Rifleman and other Ballads'', 1947 * ''Incident in Silver; A Book of Lyrics'', 1950 * ''Psalms of the Prodigal and Other Poems'',’ 1954 * ''Bottom of the Sea'', 1966 * ''Songs of the Musconetcong'', 1968 * ''Human Values in Management'', 1970 * ''Selected Lyrics and Sonnets'',’ 1970

Sources

*“A. M. Sullivan, Poet And Former Executive For Dun & Bradstreet.” ''The New York Times'', 11 June 1980, p. B10. *''Who Was Who in America with World Notables, Vol VII, 1977-1981'', Chicago; Marquis Who's Who Inc., 1981. *Sullivan, A. M., ''Songs of the Musconetcong'', Stanhope, NJ; Guinea Hollow Press, 1968. *Sullivan, A. M., ''Selected Lyrics and Sonnets'', New York, NY; Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970. *Sullivan, A. M., ''Elbows of the Wind'', New York, NY; Kingsley Press Inc., 1932. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Aloysius Michael 1896 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American poets People from Harrison, New Jersey People from St. Albans, Queens