Leigh Mitchell Hodges (July 9, 1876 – April 4, 1954) was an American journalist, author, poet, and lecturer. He was the recipient of the 1952 Benjamin Rush Award.

Life

Hodges was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, on July 9, 1876. He attended high school in

Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. Ca ...

and went to college at the School of Fine Arts in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He worked as a reporter, contributor, and editor for such new organizations as the Missouri ''Daily Ledger'', ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'', the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his w ...

'', and ''

The Times of London ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. Hodges is known for writing a column called ''The Optimist'' for ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'', known at the time as ''Philadelphia North American'', and later writing a book of the same name, which was later republished as ''The Great Optimist and Other Essays''. He also wrote several more books, poems, and hymns. He also worked with

Emily Bissell Emily Perkins Bissell (May 31, 1861 – March 8, 1948) was an American social worker and activist, best remembered for introducing Christmas Seals to the United States. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, she made a name for herself at a young age as t ...

to introduce

Christmas Seals Christmas seals are labels placed on mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs. They have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare. Christmas sea ...

to raise funds and awareness for lung diseases such as tuberculosis.Wells, A. E. Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue Canadienne De Sante'e Publique, vol. 34, no. 6, 1943, pp
294–295
JSTOR. Accessed 21 June 2020.

Works

* ''The Great Optimist and Other Essays'' (1903) * ''In the Beauty of the Lilies'' (1904) * ''The Worth of Service'' (1904) * ''Poems We Love'' (1907) * ''Golden book of the Wanamaker stores. Jubilee year, 1861-1911'' (1911) * ''The Great Encouragement, and Other Helpful Essays'' (1913) * ''Bird Guardians; a Masque for Bird Protection'' (1915) * ''The Bard at Home'' (1916)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Leigh Mitchell American male journalists 1954 deaths 1876 births American male poets 19th-century American poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers