Extremes and Moderations: A Historical Archive of Los Angeles and Southern California Poetry

THE TEXT/TECH PAPERS

Anthologies

Edited by Augustin S. Macdonald

1914Poetry AnthologyCalifornia Poetry Anthologies

Augustin S. Macdonald arranges 105 poems into “Pioneer,” “Overland,” and “Present” periods, turning chronology into a theory of California poetry. The first group favors public song, mining, labor, seafaring, and sentimental lyric: Bayard Taylor’s “California” opens expansively, John Rollin Ridge and Edward Pollock supply compact songs, and John Swett gives the miner a marching cadence. The Overland section mixes Bret Harte’s balladry and Mark Twain’s comic “Lines” with Ina Coolbrith’s lyric poise, Richard Realf’s indirection, and poems of Yosemite, the Colorado Desert, and Christmas in California.

The largest section tests what “present” could mean in the 1910s. George Sterling’s symbolist density, Yone Noguchi’s compression, Nora May French’s fractured memory, and Clark Ashton Smith’s ornate dream lyric appear beside civic addresses, floral songs, domestic elegies, and comic verse. Repeated sonnets, quatrains, ballads, and rhymed stanzas show inherited forms carrying new regional names and landscapes; shorter free-standing lyrics begin to interrupt that regularity. Macdonald’s categories are selective rather than neutral, but their juxtapositions are revealing. Famous writers share pages with teachers, journalists, club poets, pseudonymous authors, and figures represented by a single surviving piece, exposing literary history as a constructed sequence rather than a settled canon.

Corrected Reading Edition · Public PDF

Contents

A new edition note and introduction precede Macdonald’s preface and 105 poems divided among the Pioneer, Overland, and Present periods. Textual notes and an author index follow the poetry, preserving the anthology’s historical sequence while providing modern navigation.

TitleCreatorGenre / typeReader PDF page
A Note on This EditionBrian Kim Stefansdigital edition apparatusreader PDF p. 5
Introduction to the New EditionBrian Kim Stefanseditorial introductionreader PDF p. 8
PrefaceAugustin S. Macdonaldprefacereader PDF p. 22
CaliforniaBayard Taylorpoemreader PDF p. 28
The Golden Gate“Caxton”—(W. H. Rhodes)poemreader PDF p. 30
The Song of the FlumeAnna M. Fitchpoemreader PDF p. 32
The Sabbath BellsJohn R. Ridgepoemreader PDF p. 34
An Evening Song at SeaC. E. Havenspoemreader PDF p. 35
To the SierrasJ. J. Owenpoemreader PDF p. 36
To My MotherStephen C. Massettpoemreader PDF p. 37
The Lone PineB. P. Averypoemreader PDF p. 39
No Baby in the HouseClara Dolliverpoemreader PDF p. 40
The Parting HourEdward Pollockpoemreader PDF p. 41
TruthG.poemreader PDF p. 41
The Whole StoryJ. F. Bowmanpoemreader PDF p. 42
To My First LoveCrowquillpoemreader PDF p. 43
Song of Labor: The MinerJohn Swettpoemreader PDF p. 44
StanzasSarah E. Carmichaelpoemreader PDF p. 45
Hurrah for the Next that DiesBartholomew Dowlingpoemreader PDF p. 46
ScotlandJames Linenpoemreader PDF p. 48
ColumbusJoaquin Millerpoemreader PDF p. 50
To Mrs. M——Richard Realfpoemreader PDF p. 51
The AngelusF. Bret Hartepoemreader PDF p. 52
MadrigalCharles Warren Stoddardpoemreader PDF p. 53
LinesMark Twainpoemreader PDF p. 54
HomeEdward Rowland Sillpoemreader PDF p. 55
In Blossom TimeIna Coolbrithpoemreader PDF p. 56
Sweethearts and WivesDaniel O'Connellpoemreader PDF p. 57
Two TruthsHelen Hunt Jacksonpoemreader PDF p. 58
A Bird Sings In My HeartIrene Hardypoemreader PDF p. 59
I Know Not How It Is With YouRobert Louis Stevensonpoemreader PDF p. 60
PoliticsAmbrose Biercepoemreader PDF p. 60
El VaqueroLucius Harwood Footepoemreader PDF p. 61
California SkiesClarence Urmypoemreader PDF p. 62
YosemiteDaniel S. Richardsonpoemreader PDF p. 63
Junipero SerraRichard Edward Whitepoemreader PDF p. 64
To the Colorado DesertMadge Morris Wagnerpoemreader PDF p. 65
MusicEdward Robeson Taylorpoemreader PDF p. 66
MankindJoaquin Millerpoemreader PDF p. 66
IndirectionRichard Realfpoemreader PDF p. 67
Christmas in CaliforniaEdward Rowland Sillpoemreader PDF p. 68
LukeF. Bret Hartepoemreader PDF p. 69
The CometCharles Warren Stoddardpoemreader PDF p. 73
Belle of MontereyEinnim Havemeyer Tuckerpoemreader PDF p. 74
“The Pride of Battery B”Frank H. Gassawaypoemreader PDF p. 76
The Celestial SurgeonRobert Louis Stevensonpoemreader PDF p. 79
Invocation to CaliforniaCharles Keelerpoemreader PDF p. 81
The Black VultureGeorge Sterlingpoemreader PDF p. 82
ResurgamDavid Lesser Lezinskypoemreader PDF p. 82
Just CaliforniaJohn S. McGroartypoemreader PDF p. 83
The Happiest HeartJohn Vance Cheneypoemreader PDF p. 84
The Creed of DesireBruce Porterpoemreader PDF p. 85
To San FranciscoSamuel John Alexanderpoemreader PDF p. 86
The Shrine of SongLouis Alexander Robertsonpoemreader PDF p. 88
The RosaryRobert Cameron Rogerspoemreader PDF p. 89
LinesYone Noguchipoemreader PDF p. 89
The Old BroochCharles F. Lummispoemreader PDF p. 90
The Wolves of the SeaHerbert Bashfordpoemreader PDF p. 91
A Dream of BeautyClark Ashton Smithpoemreader PDF p. 92
Women's EyesArthur William Ryderpoemreader PDF p. 92
The Goblin LaughEdwin Markhampoemreader PDF p. 93
The AwakeningChristian Binkleypoemreader PDF p. 94
A NosegayAugustin S. Macdonaldpoemreader PDF p. 94
AppearancesWilliam Henry Hudsonpoemreader PDF p. 95
The Grave of PompeySister Anthony, S. N. D.poemreader PDF p. 96
VivérolsDavid Starr Jordanpoemreader PDF p. 97
A MemoryCarolus Ager (Charles Kellogg Field)poemreader PDF p. 99
A ToastGelett Burgesspoemreader PDF p. 99
To the Average ManWallace Irwinpoemreader PDF p. 100
Twilight TownRalph Erwin Gibbspoemreader PDF p. 101
Growth of the SoulJames Henry Maclaffertypoemreader PDF p. 102
To My Ink-wellLionel Josapharepoemreader PDF p. 103
To a Star-FlowerEdward Howard Griggspoemreader PDF p. 104
Little MemoriesNora May Frenchpoemreader PDF p. 105
The DifferenceAugustin S. Macdonaldpoemreader PDF p. 105
LyricHoward V. Sutherlandpoemreader PDF p. 106
NirvanaBernard Westermannpoemreader PDF p. 107
RetrospectionJames Rawlinspoemreader PDF p. 108
Titans of EarthHarold Symmespoemreader PDF p. 109
QuatrainStanley Coghillpoemreader PDF p. 109
SonnetHenriette de Saussure Blandingpoemreader PDF p. 110
When the Baby DiedA. J. Waterhousepoemreader PDF p. 111
A Wingless OneHerman Scheffauerpoemreader PDF p. 112
WirelessHenry Anderson Laflerpoemreader PDF p. 113
The California EschscholtziaAmelia Woodward Truesdellpoemreader PDF p. 114
California SunriseW. D. Crabbpoemreader PDF p. 115
Out in CaliforniaC. Brownpoemreader PDF p. 115
A Flower of the FirstCharles S. Aikenpoemreader PDF p. 116
A Year from NowSarah Keppel Vickerypoemreader PDF p. 117
Whem I Am GoneIsabel Pixleypoemreader PDF p. 117
My RetreatAlbert J. Atkinspoemreader PDF p. 118
Whom Does She LoveArthur Wm. Ryderpoemreader PDF p. 118
Sisters of the Little SorrowsJuliet Wilbor Tompkinspoemreader PDF p. 119
DaffodilsGrace Hibbardpoemreader PDF p. 120
ConfusionE. F. Greenpoemreader PDF p. 121
An Indian VerseHu Maxwellpoemreader PDF p. 122
The Stream of LifeLilian Laufertypoemreader PDF p. 123
The ChangeCharles Philip Nettletonpoemreader PDF p. 124
The Spirit of CaliforniaRufus Steelepoemreader PDF p. 125
Song of the Out-of-DoorsHerbert Bashfordpoemreader PDF p. 126
To William Vaughn MoodyHerbert Heronpoemreader PDF p. 127
The Greatest of These Is CharityHarriet M. Skidmorepoemreader PDF p. 127
Glose Upon a Ruba'iyPorter Garnettpoemreader PDF p. 128
The PoetIna Coolbrithpoemreader PDF p. 129
A LifeEdward Howard Griggspoemreader PDF p. 130
In the Redwood CanyonsLillian Shueypoemreader PDF p. 130
CaliforniaAugustin S. Macdonaldpoemreader PDF p. 131
Night SentriesGeorge Sterlingpoemreader PDF p. 132
Textual NotesBrian Kim Stefansdigital edition apparatusreader PDF p. 134
Index of AuthorsBrian Kim Stefansreference indexreader PDF p. 137
Contributors
Publication details
Subjects and editorial notes

Subjects

Keywords

Augustin S. Macdonald California poets Gold Rush Overland San Francisco 1914

Continuity notes

Part of the shared Anthologies and Documents collection.

Edition note

The formatted edition presents the selected source text in a stable, searchable reading format with modern navigation. Source scans remain private editorial evidence and are not part of the public upload.

Source note

Metadata and contents were checked against the 140-page formatted PDF and the identified source scan files where available.

Rights and citation

Copyright notice

Copyright in public-domain source texts has expired in the United States. Copyright in later works and new editorial matter remains with the respective authors, editors, publishers, or successors.

Rights status

Public Domain

Rights basis

The original 1914 publication is in the public domain in the United States. New editorial introduction, apparatus, and design were prepared in 2026.

Suggested citation

Macdonald, Augustin S., comp. A Collection of Verse by California Poets, from 1849 to 1915. A. M. Robertson, 1914. Text/Tech Anthologies and Documents, reader’s edition, 2026.