Robert Loveman (April 11, 1864 – July 10, 1923) was an American poet. Born to a Jewish family in

Cleveland, Ohio 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. ...

, he was educated at the Dalton Academy in

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the ci ...

, later attending the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

where he received his A.M. Loveman lived with Friedman relatives at the Battle Friedman House while attending the University of Alabama. It was during this time he lived there that he wrote his famous "Rain Song" poem, inspired by the gardens surrounding the house. Loveman lived in Dalton for much of his life,
"Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Dalton, Georgia," Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, accessed April 19, 2019. and wrote much of his verse there. Loveman's poem "The Rain Song" (also known as "April Rain") become very well known and was anthologized in many books of verse. It later inspired the

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

song "April Showers." A well-known Southern poet, Loveman's song "Georgia", with music by Lollie Belle Wylie, was the official state song of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

before 1979 (when it was replaced by "Georgia on My Mind"). He died in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

on July 9, 1923. A biographical study by William Stanley Hoole, ''It's Raining Violets: The Life and Poetry of Robert Loveman'', was published in 1981.

Bibliography

* ''Poems'' (1897

* ''A Book of Verses'' (1900

* ''Songs from a Georgia Garden: and Echoes from the Gates of Silence'' (1904

* ''The Blushful South and Hippocrene: Being Songs'' (1909

* ''The Gates of Silence With Interludes of Song'' (1903

* ''On the Way to Willowdale: Being Other Songs from a Georgia Garden'' (1912

* ''Sonnets of the Strife: With Songs'' (1917

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loveman, Robert 19th-century American poets American male poets 1864 births 1923 deaths University of Alabama alumni 20th-century American poets 19th-century American male writers Writers from Cleveland People from Dalton, Georgia 20th-century American male writers Jewish American poets