Clare Harner, poet of immortality: George Elliston

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

George Elliston, editor of The Gypsy poetry magazine

"... a reporter who was tough as nails and could spit the same."
-- George Elliston as described by Kevin Grace in Cincinnati's Literary Heritage (History Press, 2021)

Sun, Mar 24, 1935 – 24 · The Birmingham News (Birmingham, Alabama) · Newspapers.com

George Elliston (1883-1946) founded and edited The Gypsy all poetry magazine in Cincinnati, Ohio. Elliston's Gypsy published two poems by Kansas native Clare Harner, "Immortality" (December 1934) and Where You Go (June 1936). Clare Harner's Immortality is nowadays more popularly known by its first line "Do not stand by my grave and weep" or "Do not stand at my grave and weep."

From the Birmingham AL News, March 24, 1935:

... George Elliston, an Ohio newspaper woman and poet with a delightful personality, will speak on poetry and read some of her poems. Miss Elliston has gained wide recognition for her poetry and through her newspaper work. Her poems have been printed in worthwhile anthologies, reprinted in the Literary Digest, set to music, used over radio, chosen for illumined motto cards, reproduced on “movie” screens and translated into Russian and German. In the Spring of 1928 she won in Vienna, with Ilse Huebner, a prize much coveted since the time of Bach by poets and composers, the Oesterreichische Music Pad Reichsverband award.

She is owner and editor of the poetry journal Gypsy, which rates as one of the best poetry magazines on the market. She has a number of books of poetry to her credit and, in spite of her work as a poet and editor, she finds time to be a member of the news staff of The Cincinnati Times-Star. She writes news and features and is a syndicate writer for numerous papers.

Miss Elliston is past chairman of poetry for the League of American Pen Women and her many other activities are to be found in “Who’s Who in America.” During the Summer months Miss Elliston forgets all of these activities and retires to her estate of 15 acres, in the midst of which “Catalpa Cabin,” nestles, named for the huge catalpa which umbrellas it, and here in her studio, “Rhyme Hole,” she writes most of the lovely, haunting lyrics that have made her so well known....