Frank Harrison Gassaway was a noted American humorist and poet who often wrote under the pseudonym Derrick Dodd. Dodd is perhaps most well known for his travel letters Summer Saunterings published under this pseudonym. Although little is known of his personal life before he became a prominent writer in California, save that he was of a Virginian family,[1] Dodd apparently married a southern belle from Washington, D.C., named Elizabeth Paschal and fathered a son, Francis, in 1874 or 1875. Dodd's grandson was the writer Brian Howard.[2] In 1880, Dodd left Washington, D.C., and moved to Oakland, California where he began writing for major San Francisco papers including the San Francisco Examiner, Chronicle and the Evening Post. By 1892, Dodd had become the business manager for William Randolph Hearst's paper the San Francisco Examiner and a great admirer of the leading newspaper mogul. A volume of his poems entitled Poems was published in 1920 and was dedicated to Hearst.[3]
Writing careeredit
Dodd contributed a humorous column to the Evening Post and gained notoriety for his Mark Twain-like style and wit. Some of his writings from this column were compiled in 1882 as the volume Summer Saunterings. This collection of short travel narratives comments on popular hotels, landmarks and transportation routes in various California cities such as Santa Barbara, Monterey, Napa and San Jose.[4] In his later work, Dodd adopted a more serious and sentimental style, mainly writing poetry dealing with the Civil War. His most renowned poem, "The Pride of Battery B" was originally published in the San Francisco Examiner. This poem, about an orphan girl who temporarily reconciles the two sides during the bloody battle of Antietam, was critically acclaimed and became a popular piece for recitations. A compilation of Dodd's poetry was published as the volume Poems in 1920.[5]
Referencesedit
^Brian Howard: Portrait of a Failure, Marie-Jaqueline Lancaster, Timewell Press, 2005, pg 6
^Brian Howard: Portrait of a Failure, Marie-Jaqueline Lancaster, Timewell Press, 2005, pg 6
^Green, Martin. Children of the Sun. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1976.
California Legacy Radio Anthology •Provides access to a radio script containing an excerpt from Summer Saunterings
April 18, 2024
derrick, dodd, frank, harrison, gassaway, noted, american, humorist, poet, often, wrote, under, pseudonym, dodd, perhaps, most, well, known, travel, letters, summer, saunterings, published, under, this, pseudonym, although, little, known, personal, life, befor. Frank Harrison Gassaway was a noted American humorist and poet who often wrote under the pseudonym Derrick Dodd Dodd is perhaps most well known for his travel letters Summer Saunterings published under this pseudonym Although little is known of his personal life before he became a prominent writer in California save that he was of a Virginian family 1 Dodd apparently married a southern belle from Washington D C named Elizabeth Paschal and fathered a son Francis in 1874 or 1875 Dodd s grandson was the writer Brian Howard 2 In 1880 Dodd left Washington D C and moved to Oakland California where he began writing for major San Francisco papers including the San Francisco Examiner Chronicle and the Evening Post By 1892 Dodd had become the business manager for William Randolph Hearst s paper the San Francisco Examiner and a great admirer of the leading newspaper mogul A volume of his poems entitled Poems was published in 1920 and was dedicated to Hearst 3 Writing career editDodd contributed a humorous column to the Evening Post and gained notoriety for his Mark Twain like style and wit Some of his writings from this column were compiled in 1882 as the volume Summer Saunterings This collection of short travel narratives comments on popular hotels landmarks and transportation routes in various California cities such as Santa Barbara Monterey Napa and San Jose 4 In his later work Dodd adopted a more serious and sentimental style mainly writing poetry dealing with the Civil War His most renowned poem The Pride of Battery B was originally published in the San Francisco Examiner This poem about an orphan girl who temporarily reconciles the two sides during the bloody battle of Antietam was critically acclaimed and became a popular piece for recitations A compilation of Dodd s poetry was published as the volume Poems in 1920 5 References edit Brian Howard Portrait of a Failure Marie Jaqueline Lancaster Timewell Press 2005 pg 6 Brian Howard Portrait of a Failure Marie Jaqueline Lancaster Timewell Press 2005 pg 6 Green Martin Children of the Sun New York Basic Books Inc Publishers 1976 Library of Congress Digital Collection Gassaway Frank Harrison Poems New York James T White amp Co 1920 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Frank H Gassaway Library of Congress Contains information about Dodd as well as access to some of his workshttp memory loc gov cgi bin query h ammem calbkbib field NUMBER od1 calbk 201 California Legacy Radio Anthology Provides access to a radio script containing an excerpt from Summer Saunterings https web archive org web 20071128143945 http californialegacy org radio anthology scripts dodd html Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Derrick Dodd amp oldid 1162081470, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
