Ina Coolbrith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ina Coolbrith (born Josephine Donna Smith) (March 10, 1841-1928) was a poet and writer, and a prominent and beloved figure in the San Francisco literary community.
She was a friend of Samuel Clemens, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard, Joaquin Miller, and Ansel Adams, and contributed articles to the influential magazine, the Overland Monthly.
Coolbrith's mother brought her daughter to California in 1851 after leaving a polygamous marriage in the Latter-day Saint community.[1] She was the widow of Don Carlos Smith, brother of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. To avoid identification with her former family or with Mormonism, she reverted to using her maiden name, Coolbrith. Her daughter followed suit, and shortened her name from Josephine (or Josephina) to Ina to further conceal the relationship.
In 1873 Ina became librarian at the Oakland Free Library, and, in 1895, befriended and mentored the young Jack London. Jack London called her his "literary mother." She also mentored the poet, George Sterling.
In 1915 she was named the first poet laureate of California. Her name is commemorated by Ina Coolbrith Park at Taylor and Vallejo in San Francisco, and Mount Ina Coolbrith, a 7,900 foot peak near Beckwourth Pass in the Sierra Nevada near U.S. Highway 70. She died on Leap Day, February 29, 1928, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.
[edit] External links
Poems by Ina Coolbrith:
- Beside the Dead
- The California Poppy
- Fruitionless
- Helen Hunt Jackson
- Meadow Larks
- Millennium
- When the Grass Shall Cover Me
Short biographies at:
