Joseph Simon Newman (December 6, 1891 – November 10, 1960) was an American entrepreneur and writer. He was a founder of the Newman-Stern Company, and gained renown as a writer of both light and serious verse.

Biography

Joseph Newman was born in

New London, Ohio New London is a village in Huron County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,461 at the 2010 census. The village motto, "The Right Place at the Right Time", was chosen in the late twentieth century by former Mayor Dorothy Sholes. New Lon ...

, the son of Simon and Hanna Cohn Newman, who then moved to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. A graduate of Central High School, Newman attended the

Case Institute of Technology Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location i ...

before withdrawing to go into business. He married Babette Weidenthal, daughter of Cleveland journalist Maurice Weidenthal, in 1913. Two years later, with brother Arthur Samuel Newman and partner Arnold Stern, he founded the Electro-Set Co. to manufacture

educational toys Educational toys (sometimes also called "instructive toys") are objects of play, generally designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning. They are often intended to meet an educational purpose such as helping a child develop a ...

, some being his own

inventions An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...

. The firm soon added sporting goods to its line and became the Newman-Stern Company. Newman meanwhile began writing columns on electricity for ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' and contributing humorous rhymes to Ted Robinson's "Philosopher of Folly" column under the pseudonym, "Prof. Cy N. Tific." He was a member of the

City Club of Cleveland The City Club of Cleveland is a non-partisan debate forum in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1912, the club's home is the City Club Building, formerly the Citizens Building, on Euclid Avenue in Downtown Cleveland. Known as "America's Citadel of Free ...

, and from 192558 collaborated with Carl D. Friebolin in writing lyrics (775 in all) for the club's annual Anvil Revue. His first volume of verse, ''Poems For Penguins'', was published in 1941; it was followed by ''It Could Be Verse!'' (1948), ''Perishable Poems'' (1952), and ''Verse Yet!'' (1959). After his retirement from business, in 1952 he began to write a weekly column for the Cleveland Press under the heading "It Could Be Verse". In 1957, he began to contribute a daily column under the title "Joe Newman's Frying Pan". Among many other activities, Newman taught at Cleveland College and served as trustee of The Cleveland Play House. Newman died at the age of 68 in Cleveland, Ohio. His poem " Black Cross" has been recorded by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

on ''The Minnesota Hotel Tape, 1961'', and by Lord Buckley on ''Way Out Humor''. His poem "Paradise Almost Lost" was recorded by

Biff Rose Paul "Biff" Rose (born October 15, 1937) is an American comedian and singer-songwriter. Biography Born in New Orleans, Rose moved to Hollywood where he found a job working as a comedy sketch writer with George Carlin working sometimes on the M ...

on ''The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side''. The foreword of ''It Could Be Verse'' was written by

Louis Untermeyer Louis Untermeyer (October 1, 1885 – December 18, 1977) was an American poet, anthologist, critic, and editor. He was appointed the fourteenth Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1961. Life and career Untermeyer was born in New Y ...

. He is the uncle of actor Paul Newman.Genealogy website entry for Paul Newman

Bibliography

* ''Poems For Penguins and Other Lyrical Lapses.'' New York: Greenberg, 1941 * ''It Could Be Verse!'' Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1948 * ''Perishable Poems.'' Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1952 * ''Verse Yet!'' Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1959 * ''One Summer Day'' Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1962 (posthumously)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Joseph Simon 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American poets 1960 deaths 1891 births People from New London, Ohio