Robert Charles Sands (May 11, 1799 - December 17, 1832) was an American poet, prose writer, and lawyer.
Robert C. Sands (1799-1832), from The Writings of Robert C. Sands, Volume I, 1834. Courtesy Internet Archive.
Life[]
Youth and education[]
Sands was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn (now in New York City), the son of merchant (and former state Auditor-General) Comfort Sands (1748-1834).[1]
He attended Columbia College, and then studied law under David Ogden. However, he also conributed to literary journals, and seemed more interested in a literary than a legal career.[2]
Career[]
In 1824 he founded the Atlantic, which he wrote for and edited. (He became co-editor with William Cullen Bryant, 1825-1826, after the magazine became the New York Review.[2]
With Bryant and Gulian C. Verplank, Sands edited The Talisman, which published some of his verse. He was also on the staff of the New York Commercial Advertiser, 1827-1832.[3]
He is considered part of the "Knickerbocker Group", a group which also included, Bryant, Verplanck, Washington Irving, James Kirke Paulding, Gulian Crommelin , Fitz-Greene Halleck, Joseph Rodman Drake, Lydia Maria Child, and Nathaniel Parker Willis.[4]
He died in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Writing[]
Sands was a scholarly and versatile writer, but without much originality. His best work is in his short stories. His chief poem was Yamoyden, an Indian story written in collaboration with a friend, James Wallis Eastburn.[5]
Critical introduction[]
by Samuel Kettel
Yamoyden was written while the authors resided in separate parts of the country,— the 1 in New York, and the other in Rhode Island,— the plan of the poem having been previously agreed upon, and the parts assigned: but it was not published during the lifetime of Mr Eastburn. After his death, Mr Sands revised the work, and gave it some additions, and it was published in 1820.
This poem, although executed under great disadvantages, certainly displays poetical talent of a superior order, and we are inclined to award it the preference among all those of its kind which have been founded upon our aboriginal history. The striking peculiarities of the Indian character and superstition, are introduced with great felicity, and the descriptions are handled with a reach of thought and expression that we do not often see surpassed.
Mr Sands has not, since the publication of this work, occupied himself with verse, except, we believe, in the case of a single casual performance. Those parts of Yamoyden which can be identified as his, leave us no room to doubt that his powers are equal to an undertaking in the very highest walk of poetry.
Should he be inclined to devote again to the muse, with any steady and well studied effort, a portion of that fine talent which he is daily throwing away upon the common concerns of life, we feel confident in assuring him a rank among the foremost of those who are enriching our native literature, and winning for themselves unfading wreaths of the sacred laurel.[6]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- The Bridal of Vaumond: A metrical romance. New York: James Eastburn, 1817.
- Yamoyden: A tale of the wars of King Phillip, in six cantos (with James Eastburn; published as "by the Rev. James Wallis Eastburn, A.M. and his friend"). New York: James Eastburn, 1820.
- The Executioner: Being a true impartial and most extraordinary account of what happened to the man who burnt the Rev. John Rogers, as related by his son James Rogers. Philadelphia: W. Beastall, [183_?].
Edited[]
- Life and Correspondence of John Paul Jones: Including his narrative of the campaign of the Liman. New York: printed by D. Fanshaw, 1830.
Collected editions[]
- Writings: In prose and verse; with a memoir of the author (edited by Giulian C. Verplanck). (2 volumes), New York: Harper & Brothers, 1834. Volume I, Volume II.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy West Virginia University.[2]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Robert Charles Sands, Wikipedia, March 29, 2016, Wikimedia Foundation. Web, Nov. 6, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Robert Charles Sands (1799-1832), Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry, College of Law, West Virginia University. Web, Apr. 15, 2013.
- ↑ Robert Charles Sands (1799-1832), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, Nov. 6, 2016.
- ↑ Nelson, Randy F. The Almanac of American Letters. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1981: 30. ISBN 0-86576-008-X. Print.
- ↑ John William Cousin, "Sands, Robert Charles," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: Dent / New York: Dutton, 1910, 326. Wikisource, Web, Feb. 24, 2018.
- ↑ Critical and Biographical Notice: Robert C. Sands (1797?–1819), Specimens of American Poetry (edited by Samuel Kettell). (3 volumes), Boston: S.G. Goodrich, 1829. Bartleby.com, Web, Nov. 6, 2016.
External links[]
- Poems
- "The Green Isle of Lovers" in An American Anthology
- "Yamoyden: Proem"
- from Yamoyden
- Books
- Robert Charles Sands at Amazon.com
- About
- Robert Charles Sands (1799-1832) at Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry
- Robert Charles Sands (1799-1832) at English Poetry, 1579-1830
- Robert C. Sands in The Poets and Poetry of America
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