Jessie Belle Rittenhouse Scollard (December 8, 1869 – September 28, 1948), daughter of John Edward and Mary (MacArthur) Rittenhouse,
was a literary critic, compiler of anthologies, and poet.
Life
After graduating in 1890 from
Genesee Wesleyan Seminary The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York.
The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary (I) was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The plan for its ...
in
Lima, New York, Rittenhouse taught school in
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County.
The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...
and
Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Ha ...
. Her literary career began with book reviews in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, and led to a year as a reporter for the Rochester ''
Democrat and Chronicle
The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production fa ...
'' in 1894. In 1899 she moved to Boston to begin her literary career in earnest. From 1905 to 1915 Rittenhouse lived in New York City, where she was poetry reviewer for the ''
New York Times Review of Books
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most in ...
''. From 1914 to 1924 she conducted lecture tours. In 1914 Rittenhouse helped to found the
Poetry Society of America, of which she was secretary for 10 years.
Rittenhouse married fellow poet
Clinton Scollard
Clinton Scollard (1860–1932) was an American poet and writer of fiction. He was a Professor of English at Hamilton College.
Professional career
Scollard was born at Clinton, Oneida County, New York on September 18, 1860, son of James Isaac ...
in 1924.
In the course of her career, Rittenhouse corresponded with numerous contemporary poets, such as
John Myers O'Hara,
Margaret Widdemer, and
Arthur Guiterman. Her poems were set to music by many composers, including
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...
, Noble Cain, Alice Reber Fish,
Ethel Glenn Hier,
Kirke Mechem, Frederick W. Vanderpool,
Wintter Watts
Wintter Haynes Watts (Cincinnati, Ohio, March 14, 1884 – Brooklyn, New York, November 1, 1962) was an American composer of art songs.
Life and musical career
Watts was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his early studies were in painting, archite ...
, and especially
David Wendel Guion.
Late in her career, Rittenhouse moved to Winter Park, Florida, and became associated with
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution.
History
Rollins Colle ...
, where she was a lecturer in poetry.
The
Poetry Society of America presented Rittenhouse the first
Robert Frost Medal
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, R ...
in 1930.
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse died at her home in
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan on September 28, 1948.
Works
Anthologies
* ''The Lover's Rubáiyát'' (1904)
* ''Little Book of Modern Verse'' (1913)
* ''Little Book of American Poets'' (1915)
* ''Second Book of Modern Verse'' (1919)
* ''Little Book of Modern British Verse'' (1924)
* ''Third Book of Modern Verse'' (1927)
* ''The Singing Heart'' (1934) (Selected verses by Clinton Scollard)
Verse
* ''The Door of Dreams'' (1918)
* ''The Lifted Cup'' (1921)
* ''The Secret Bird'' (1930)
* ''Moving Tide: New and Selected Lyrics'' (1939)
Edited with Clinton Scollard
* ''The Bird-Lovers Anthology'' (1930)
* ''Patrician Rhymes'' (1932)
Autobiography
* ''My House of Life'' (1934)
References
External links
*
*
*
A guide to the Jessie Rittenhouse Collection at Rollins CollegeSelect poems by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rittenhouse, Jessie Belle
1869 births
1948 deaths
20th-century American poets
Women anthologists
American literary critics
American women literary critics
American women poets
19th-century American women journalists
20th-century American women writers
People from Mount Morris, New York
Writers from New York (state)
19th-century American journalists
19th-century American women writers
Rollins College faculty
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American women academics