Sterling, George
Entry updated 1 December 2024. Tagged: Author.
(1869-1926) US poet and author whose reputation peaked during the first decade of the twentieth century, partly due to the fervent advocacy of Ambrose Bierce and Jack London; he is now almost entirely forgotten. The title poem of The Testimony of the Suns and Other Poems (coll 1903) is an extended essay in Cosmology whose relegation of Homo sapiens to utter insignificance conveys sensations akin to Horror in SF. Other similar texts include "A Wine of Wizardry" (September 1907 Cosmopolitan), later assembled in A Wine of Wizardry and Other Poems (coll 1909; rev vt A Wine of Wizardry and Three Other Poems 1964); and Lilith: A Dramatic Poem (1926), a verse play in which Lilith, servant of the Devil, opens men's eyes to the dread vacancy of the cosmos. California landscapes backdrop much of his work; his sadly bathetic love of a San Francisco to come is clear in a poem like "The Cool Grey City of Love" (11 December 1920 The Bulletin): "The winds of the Future wait / At the iron walls of her Gate". Sterling is of more direct sf interest for Outland (1910) with Mary Austin, writing together as by Gordon Stairs, a Lost Race tale [for details see her entry]. His six-part Prehistoric SF series "Babes in the Wood" (1 February-15 April 1914 The Popular Magazine) was not assembled in book form. [JC]
George Sterling
born Sag Harbor, New York: 1 December 1869
died San Francisco, California: 17 November 1926
works (selected)
series
Complete Poetry
- The Complete Poetry, Volume 1: Chords of Fire (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2013) [poetry: coll: edited by S T Joshi and David E Schultz: Complete Poetry: hb/]
- The Complete Poetry, Volume 2: To a Girl Dancing (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2013) [poetry: coll: edited by S T Joshi and David E Schultz: Complete Poetry: hb/]
- The Complete Poetry, Volume 3: The Stranger at the Gate (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2013) [poetry: coll: edited by S T Joshi and David E Schultz: Complete Poetry: hb/]
individual titles
- The Testimony of the Suns and Other Poems (San Francisco, California: W E Wood, 1903) [poetry: coll: hb/]
- Outland (London: John Murray, 1910) with Mary Austin, writing together as by Gordon Stairs [hb/]
- A Wine of Wizardry and Other Poems (San Francisco, California: Robertson, 1909) [poetry: coll: hb/]
- A Wine of Wizardry and Three Other Poems (Fort Johnson, New York: Alvin S Fick, 1964) [poetry: coll: rev vt of the above: pb/nonpictorial]
- Lilith: A Dramatic Poem (New York: Macmillan, 1926) [verse play: hb/]
links
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