Poems and Prose Writings. By Richard H. Dana. Philadelphia: Marshall, Clark, and Co., 1833.
☛Dana wrote Two Years Before the Mast, and
that is all we remember of him now. His poetry and
novels are not even mentioned in his Wikipedia article
(as of this writing). But hear what Rufus
Wilmot Griswold said about him in 1849:
"It is a disgrace to the literary character of this
nation that so little is known of the works of Richard
Henry Dana, who as a poet and as a novelist is worthy
to be ranked with any living writer in the English
language. For himself he can afford to 'bide his
time,' but it is a loss as well as a dishonour to the
people that The Buccaneer and Paul Felton and his
other productions are not more read. In the preface to
the only and very imperfect edition of his prose works
that has been published he says, 'To be liked of those
whose hearts and minds I esteem would be unspeakable
comfort to me, and would open sympathies with them in
my nature, which lie deep in the immortal part of me,
and which, therefore, though beginning in time, will
doubtless live on in eternity.' To such he commends
himself, and by such, so far as he is known, he is
appreciated; but for more than ten years, owing to our
system of literary piracy, which by giving all foreign
works to American publishers without copy-money shuts
out the native author from competition, there has not
been a set of his poems, tales, or essays in the
market, and the great mass even of intelligent readers
know nothing about them."
Fortunately, even as Griswold's book was in
publication, a new edition of Dana's works was in
press, and we have managed to find a copy of it here.
Poems and Prose Writings. By Richard Henry
Dana. In two volumes. New York: Baker and Scribner,
1850.
Volume I. —This volume contains almost all the works on which Griswold based his judgment above. The novels are short; we should probably call them "novellas" today.
Volume II. Essays.
The Life and Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Containing his complete poetical works, his best short stories, numerous anecdotes and a complete biography of the famous poet. By Lida Keck Wiggins. And an introduction by William Dean Howells. Profusely illustrated with over half a hundred full page photo and half-tone engravings. Published by J. L. Nichols & Company, Manufacturing Publishers of High Grade Subscription Books. Naperville, Ill. Memphis, Tenn. Agents wanted. [1907.]