Poem from Henry Van Dyke ‘Music and Other Poems’ 1904.

Henry Van Dyke (born 10 November 1852, Germantown, Pennsylvania, USA, and died 10 April 1933, Princeton, New Jersey USA) He was a Presbyterian minister, short-story writer, poet and essayist popular in the early decades of the 20th century. Van Dyke married Ellen Reid in 1891 and they had nine children.

A leading writer of his age, Henry van Dyke wrote profusely in the fields of religion, literature, diplomacy, education, nature and public service. He was an admirer of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and met him while overseas.

Van Dyke’s great love of the outdoors was a crucial part of his Christianity, and in the early twentieth century he became a conservationist speaking out for the preservation of Yellowstone. His belief in nature and religion drove his literary criticism and other writings throughout his life.

❤ Gretchen Bernet-Ward