Olive Sanxay (June 1, 1873 – October 11, 1965), also seen as Olive Sanxey, was an American poet and short story writer.
Early life
Sanxay was born in Ravenswood in
Jefferson County, Indiana
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 33,147. The county seat is Madison.
History
Jefferson County was formed on February 1, 1811, from Dearborn and Clark Counties. It was named for ...
, the tenth and final child of Henry Campbell Sanxay and Sarah (Sally) Parker Stringfellow Sanxay.
She began to lose her hearing as a girl. She graduated from Madison High School in 1890. In 1895 she was admitted to the
Indiana School for the Deaf
Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) is a fully accredited school for the deaf and hard of hearing, located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
It won the best deaf school in America in 2011 and 2014.
History
When the first school for the Deaf was establi ...
.
Career
Sanxay taught at the Indiana State School for the Deaf,
and wrote stories and poems as a young woman. Two of her poems, "Genius" and "Sabbath Chimes", were included in ''Poets and Poetry of Indiana'' (1900).
"A Summer Girl" appeared in ''Indiana Writers of Poems and Prose'' (1902). She wrote poem, "The Dream and the Deed", for a 1907 ceremony at the school, and it was included in the Indiana State School's annual report in 1908.
In 1918 one of her poems was included in the poem-a-day collection ''The Hoosier Year of 366 Indiana Writers and Speakers''. Other poems by Sanxay appeared in newspapers, including the ''
Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
'', the ''
Indianapolis Journal
The ''Indianapolis Journal'' was a newspaper published in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The paper published daily editions every evening except on Sundays, when it published a morning edition.
The fir ...
'' and ''
The Inter Ocean
The ''Chicago Inter Ocean'', also known as the ''Chicago Inter-Ocean'', is the name used for most of its history for a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, from 1865 until 1914. Its editors included Charles A. Dana and Byron Andrews.
Histo ...
''. She also published at least one story, "Jim's Baby" (1899).
Personal life
Sanxay was institutionalized at the Southeastern Indiana Hospital for the Insane (later Madison State Hospital) in
Madison, Indiana
Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the larges ...
,
for many years. She died there in 1965, aged 92 years.
References
External links
Olive Sanxay, "Genius" (1900) reprinted in Francis M. Hutt, ed., ''Directions and Prospects for Educational Linguistics'' (Springer Science & Business Media 2010): 113.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanxay, Olive
1873 births
1965 deaths
People from Madison, Indiana
American women poets
Deaf poets