Honoring the life and poetry of Clare Harner Lyon (1909-1977): Kansas poet and California transplant, author of the cherished bereavement poem "Immortality" aka "Do not stand by my grave and weep."
I see that both poets were credited with this poem however what I have found is that Claire was credited in 1935 and Mary Elizabeth in 1934.. either way it's a wonderful poem but I would have liked to have known who really wrote it because I'm still confused.
Deb Costa, Thank you for commenting! Your confusion is understandable considering how frequently and widely the poem has been attributed, wrongly, to Mary E. Frye. Verifiable fact: in December 1934 the Gypsy poetry magazine published "Immortality" by Clare Harner (later Clare Harner Lyon, after her 1943 marriage). "Immortality" in THE GYPSY is the earliest known printing of now-famous poem that begins "Do not stand by my grave and weep." Do you know of any attribution to Mary Elizabeth Frye published before 1983? So far as I can tell the first person to credit Mrs. Frye in print was Richard K. Shull the newspaper columnist. The London Times obit for Mary E. Frye gave incorrect information about the poem and Dear Abby's alleged role in establishing authorship, as shown in my 2018 article in Notes and Queries.
I see that both poets were credited with this poem however what I have found is that Claire was credited in 1935 and Mary Elizabeth in 1934.. either way it's a wonderful poem but I would have liked to have known who really wrote it because I'm still confused.
ReplyDeleteDeb Costa, Thank you for commenting! Your confusion is understandable considering how frequently and widely the poem has been attributed, wrongly, to Mary E. Frye. Verifiable fact: in December 1934 the Gypsy poetry magazine published "Immortality" by Clare Harner (later Clare Harner Lyon, after her 1943 marriage). "Immortality" in THE GYPSY is the earliest known printing of now-famous poem that begins "Do not stand by my grave and weep." Do you know of any attribution to Mary Elizabeth Frye published before 1983? So far as I can tell the first person to credit Mrs. Frye in print was Richard K. Shull the newspaper columnist. The London Times obit for Mary E. Frye gave incorrect information about the poem and Dear Abby's alleged role in establishing authorship, as shown in my 2018 article in Notes and Queries.
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