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Joyce Kilmer

Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Roman Catholic religious faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I, Kilmer was considered the leading American Roman Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation, whom critics often compared to British contemporaries G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) and Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953).: p.27  He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous "Fighting 69th") in 1917. He was killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31. He was married to Aline Murray, also an accomplished poet and author, with whom he had five children.

While most of his works are largely unknown today, a select few of his poems remain popular and are published frequently in anthologies. Several critics—including both Kilmer's contemporaries and modern scholars—have dismissed Kilmer's work as being too simple and overly sentimental, and suggested that his style was far too traditional, even archaic. Many writers, including notably Ogden Nash, have parodied Kilmer's work and style—as attested by the many imitations of "Trees".

Birth and Death Data: Born December 6, 1886 (New Brunswick), Died July 30, 1918 (Seringes-et-Nesles)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1946

Roles Represented in DAHR: author

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-30950 10-in. 11/1/1926 Trees Ernestine Schumann-Heink Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor B-30950 10-in. 9/29/1924 Trees Ernestine Schumann-Heink Contralto vocal solo, with harp and orchestra author  
Victor BVE-34924 10-in. 3/1/1926 Trees Elsie Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor CVE-37045 12-in. 11/27/1926 The peacemaker Associated Glee Clubs of America Male vocal chorus, with trumpet author  
Victor BVE-39419 10-in. 6/22/1927 If Florence Higgins Butler Recitation author  
Victor PBVE-42003 10-in. 2/14/1928 Trees Eddie Harkness Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo author  
Victor BVE-45032 10-in. 5/11/1928 Trees Anne Stanier Rutledge Female vocal solo, with piano author  
Victor BVE-46112 10-in. 6/22/1928 Trees Theda M. McKinney Female vocal solo, with piano author  
Victor BVE-46113 10-in. 6/25/1928 Trees Grace Huber Lohmiller Female vocal solo, with piano author  
Victor BVE-46307 10-in. 7/10/1928 Trees Zelda Huckins Female vocal solo, with piano (self-accompaniment) author  
Victor BVE-55636 10-in. 7/29/1929 Trees Reinald Werrenrath Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor BVE-64315 10-in. 10/10/1930 Trees Leo Reisman Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo author  
Victor BRC-69616 10-in. 5/14/1931 Trees Frank Munn ; Nathaniel Shilkret ; Victor Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo author  
Victor BRC-69654 10-in. 5/26/1931 Trees John Charles Thomas Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor BVE-89135 10-in. 4/11/1935 Trees Don R. George Pipe organ solo (Hawaiian) author  
Victor PBS-09560 10-in. 6/29/1937 Trees Nelson Eddy ; Nathaniel Shilkret Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor D6VB-2106 10-in. 8/21/1946 Trees Sons of the Pioneers Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble author  
Columbia W144754 10-in. 10/12/1927 Trees Earl Burtnett ; Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with vocal solo author  
Columbia W151749 10-in. 8/24/1931 Trees Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet author  
Brunswick E36505 10-in. 3/25/1931 Trees Will Osborne and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo author  
Brunswick E18084-E18086 10-in. 2/24/1926 Trees Marie Morrisey Female vocal solo, with flute obbligato and orchestra author  
Brunswick E18482-E18483 10-in. 3/19/1926 Trees Marie Morrisey Female vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Gramophone 0B2180 10-in. 2/9/1932 Trees Ambrose Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo author  
Gramophone 0EA7087 10-in. 11/20/1938 Trees Paul Robeson Bass vocal solo, with orchestra author  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kilmer, Joyce," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102075.

Kilmer, Joyce. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102075.

"Kilmer, Joyce." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102075

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