Horatio Colony II (1900-1977) was an American poet, playwright and businessman. He wrote a novel, ''Free Forester'', as well as eleven books of poetry and two plays. His poetic works include ''Bacchus and Krishna'', ''The Flying Ones'', ''Young Malatesta'', ''Antique Thorn: The Faun's Girl'', ''Early Land: Two Narrative Poems'', ''Some Phoenix Blood'', ''Magic Child'', and ''Flower Myth''. He wrote the plays ''The Emperor and the Bee Boy'' and ''The Amazon's Hero''. Colony was born in 1900 in

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

, and was the grandson of the city's first mayor. His family were successful mill owners, a vocation which he inherited but had little passion for. He began writing at an early age and continued to do so until his death. Spending much of his life as a bachelor, Colony traveled the world and collected fine items which reflect a variety of cultures. He also kept a diary for much of his life which is now housed at the University of Syracuse. ''Free Forester'' (1935) was the most successful of his works, receiving a positive review from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', which called him "a new name in literary circles" and the novel "sensitively and intelligently made and felt". Colony corresponded with the well known poet

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures ther ...

. The two shared a professional relationship, and were both known for their homoerotic writings.

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...

once openly criticized Colony for the "thinly veiled celebrations of homosexuality" present in his work. Later in life, Colony married Mary Curtis of Concord Massachusetts. The couple had no children. At his death in 1977, Colony's house was transformed into the Horatio Colony House Museum at his bequest.Today the museum houses his vast collections and hosts a variety of public programs. A separate plot of land owned by his family was turned into the Horatio Colony Nature Preserve at this time as well. The Preserve is open year round for individual hiking.

References

1900 births 1977 deaths Gay poets 20th-century American poets American male poets American LGBT poets People from Keene, New Hampshire Writers from New Hampshire American gay writers {{US-poet-1900s-stub