Publisher's Synopsis
Florence Van Leer Earle Nicholson Coates (July 1, 1850 - April 6, 1927) was an American poet. Biography: She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Granddaughter of noted abolitionist and philanthropist Thomas Earle, and eldest daughter of Philadelphia lawyer George H. Earle, Sr. and Mrs. Frances ("Fanny") Van Leer Earle, Mrs. Coates gained notoriety both at home and abroad for her works of poetry-nearly three-hundred of which were published in literary magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly, Scribner's Magazine, The Literary Digest, Lippincott's, The Century Magazine, and Harper's. Many of her poems were set to music by composers such as Mrs. H. H. A. Beach (Amy Cheney Beach), Clayton Johns, and Charles Gilbert Spross. She attended school in New England under the instruction of abolitionist and teacher Theodore Dwight Weld, and would further her education abroad at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Paris (Rue de Varenne), and by studying music in Brussels under noted instructors of the day. Literary and social critic Matthew Arnold both encouraged and inspired Mrs. Coates' writing of poetry. He was a guest at the Coates' Germantown home when his lecture tours brought him to Philadelphia. Coates and Arnold first met in New York-during Arnold's first visit and lecture tour of America-at the home of Andrew Carnegie, "where they formed a lasting friendship."The tour (which lasted from October 1883 to March 1884) brought Arnold to Philadelphia in December 1883, where he lectured at Association Hall on the topics of the "Doctrine of the Remnant" and on "Emerson." His second visit and tour of America took place in 1886, and brought him to Philadelphia in early June where he was again hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Coates and spoke on the topic of "Foreign Education" at the University of Pennsylvania chapel.Arnold wrote to Mrs. Coates in 1887 and 1888 from his home at Pains Hill Cottage in Cobham, Surrey, England describing his remembrance of and fondness for her "tulip-trees and maples" at her Germantown home, "Willing Terrace." Rarely did Mrs. Coates write or publish prose work, but in April 1894 and again in December 1909, she dedicated her pen to remembrances of her mentor in issues of The Century and Lippincott's magazines respectively. Between 1887 and 1912, Mrs. Coates published over two dozen poems within The Century Magazine. Her correspondence between Century editor Richard Watson Gilder and others is documented at the New York Public Library Digital Collections website. In one letter dated 12 March 1905, Coates submits to Mr. Gilder a poem she wrote after being inspired by a photograph of Helen Keller holding a rose which was published in The Century the previous January. Mrs. Coates requests that, if published, the poem also be accompanied by a copy of the photograph, and shares that Ms. Keller sends word that she "accords [Coates] any permission" to use the photo for that purpose. The poem, "Helen Keller with a Rose", is published in the July 1905 issue-without the accompanying photograph, but with reference to the issue in which it first appeared. The Coates' often spent their summer months in the Adirondacks, where they maintained "Camp Elsinore"-their summer camp by the Upper St. Regis Lake. It was there that they entertained, rested and escaped the humidity of Philadelphia summers, welcoming friends such as Otis Skinner, Violet Oakley, Henry Mills Alden, and Agnes Repplier. In the early 1900s (decade), the Coates' seasonally opened their camp to Anna Roosevelt Cowles ("Bamie")-elder sister of Theodore Roosevelt. Among Mrs. Cowles' visitors during her stays at Elsinore was Alice Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter. Many of Mrs. Coates' nature poems were inspired by the flora and fauna of the Adirondacks. Of her "spot in the mountains," Mrs. Coates sings: There's a cabin in the mountains, where the fare, dear, Is frugal as the cheer of Arden blest; But contentment sweet and fellowship are the
