Arthur Guiterman (; November 20, 1871

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– January 11, 1943

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) was an American writer best known for his humorous poems.

Life and career

Guiterman was born of American parents in Vienna. His father was Alexander Gütermann, born in the Bavarian village

Redwitz an der Rodach Redwitz an der Rodach is a municipality in the district of Lichtenfels in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe afte ...

, and his mother was Louisa Wolf, born in

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. Arthur graduated from the

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in 1891, and later was married in 1909 to Vida Lindo. He was an

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of the ''

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'' and the ''

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''. In 1910, he cofounded the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

, and later served as its president in 1925–26. An example of his humour is a poem that talks about modern progress, with rhyming couplets such as "First dentistry was painless;/Then bicycles were chainless". It ends on a more telling note: Another Guiterman poem, "On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness", illustrates the philosophy also incorporated into his humorous rhymes: Perhaps his most-quoted poem is his 1936 "D.A.R.ling" satire about the

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(and three other clubs open only to descendants of pre-Independence British Americans). That poem has an intricate, strongly dramatic rhythmical structure. He also notably wrote the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

for

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's ''

The Man Without a Country "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published in ''The Atlantic'' in December 1863. It is the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for t ...

'' which premiered at the

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in New York City on May 12, 1937.Music: Man Without a Country
''

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'', May 24, 1937

Bibliography

Poetry

;Collections * * * * * * * * * * ;List of poems ;Translations *

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * *November 28, 1915, New York Times
Poets' Opportunities Greater than Ever Before; Arthur Guiterman Tells How to Make a Living Out of Verse and Gives a List of Don'ts for Aspiring Poets;- Advises Writing on Topical Themes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guiterman, Arthur American male poets American humorists American magazine editors City College of New York alumni The New Yorker people American opera librettists 1871 births 1943 deaths American male non-fiction writers