In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

EDWARD SMYT H JONES Edward Smyth Jones was born in Natchez, Mississippi, sometime in March of 1881. Hi s slave parents, Hawk and Rebecca, lacked formal education, but he attended local schools and developed a taste for reading and writing. Fo r fourteen month s during 1902-0 3 he studied a t nearb y Alcorn Agricultura l and Mechanical College in exchange for labor. Continuin g his reading and writing i n Louisville , Kentucky , h e brough t out , unde r th e nicknam e "Invincible Ned," a book of poems entitled The Rose That Bloometh in My Heart (1908). Amon g its thirty poems was "A Psalm of Love," a parody of the well-known "A Psalm of Love" written by Longfellow while a professor at Harvard. After movin g to Indianapolis, Jones won praise for his poetry. Bu t his greatest desire was to attend Harvard. Wit h almost no money in his pocket, he se t ou t i n Jul y 1910—hiking , stealing freight-trai n rides , and sleepin g outdoors. H e covered th e 120 0 miles an d arrive d afte r dar k i n Harvar d Yard, wher e h e foun d a printe r workin g overtim e i n th e basemen t o f University Hall and asked t o see the president. Lookin g at th e dirty and shabby traveler, the printer too k hi m fo r a crazy tramp and summoned a policeman, who jailed Jones for vagrancy. Arraigne d before Judge Arthur P. Stone '93, LL.B. '95, Jones was able to produce letters of congratulation from numerous people including the mayor of Indianapolis, the governor of Indiana and former Vice-President Charles Fairbanks, along with two of his poems. Th e judge wa s impressed b y the lon g "Od e t o Ethiopia, " whic h hailed a parade of Negro achievers, including several Harvard alumni. Jones was offered assistanc e by black lawyer Clement Morgan '90, LL.B. '93, an d b y Willia m H . Holtzclaw , foundin g principa l o f all-blac k Utic a Normal and Industrial Institute in Mississippi, who happened to be studying then a t th e Harvard Summe r School. Jone s was released, but no t befor e writing a new poem, "Harvard Square, " during his three-day incarceration . Harvard's janitorial superviso r pu t Jone s t o work, enabling th e would-be student to attend Boston Latin School for a year. Durin g this period, Jones published hi s secon d book , The Sylvan Cabin and Other Verse, which contained th e Harvard poe m and bore a dedication t o Judge Stone. (Th e Harvard Library has a copy presented to it by former presiden t Charles W. 154 Edward Smyth Jones Eliot.) Lack of funds prevente d Jone s from finishin g a t Boston Latin Schoo l and entering Harvard, and he moved from place to place until he secured a job as a waiter in the Faculty Club at Columbia University. Th e New York Times published an article about him and lauded his long new poem about the sinking of the Titanic. B y the 1920s Jones was living in Chicago, where he worked as a general laborer until he succumbed to a cerebral thrombosis on 28 September 1968. Harvard Squar e Tis onc e in life our dreams come true , The myth s of long ago, Quite rea l thoug h fairy-lik e thei r view, They surge with ebb an d flow ; Thus thou, O haun t o f childhood dreams , More beauteou s an d fai r Than Nature' s landscap e an d her streams , Historic Harvard Square . My soul hath pante d lon g for thee , Like as the wounded har t That vainly strives himself t o fre e Full from th e archer' s dart ; And struggle d of t all , all alon e With burdens hard t o bea r But no w I stand a t Wisdom's thron e To-night i n Harvard Square . A nigh t most tranquil,— I was prou d My thoughts soared u p afar , To moonbeams pourin g through th e cloud , Or some lone twinkling star; And musin g thus, my quickened pac e Beat t o the printery's glare, Where firs t I saw a friendly fac e In...

Share