Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-07-13
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Encouragement to american Poetic Talent :!
$500 Premium.

Encouragement to american Poetic Talent!
$500 Premium.
IMPRESSED as am with the controlling in
/ fuence which is exercised by the fine arts
| arts upon the direction and destiny of human
affairs i. has given me infinite pleasure to
witness the bountiful manner in which, from
time to time, painting and statuary have been
encouraged and rewarded by the Councils Of
the Nation. sarrpr~.. ..ss.. - -.., %. r, ..-s
But, while this acknowledgment is due to
the discerning and worthy patrons Of these
noble, it is an equal source of humiliation and
sorrow to behold the apparent apathy and in.
difference with which they seem to regard the
incomparably more valuable creations Of
poetry. .
| To see them adorn the walls of the Capitol
with the glowing revelations of the pencil, and
decorate the public grounds with the costly
chef d'euvres Of the chisel, is an omen OF
good which will be hailed and applauded by
all as cheering pledge of the progress of re-
fnement. But. whilst they lavish their thou-
sands upon those immobile products of canvass
and marble and bronze, they offer no! reward
for the more exalted more enduring and rel
newned oyations of the pen. No fosteFinE
hand from these high places has ever yet inr
vited the Promethean fire of poetry to Animal
the history of our country, which, with all its
harmony of form and wonder of proportion
| lies asleep around the humble vault of Mount
Vernon, ready to spring into life and beauty
at the first kindling touch Of this genial in
| SEPARATION. .@Ig' LGel lL,- 81 al
| 1t surely were a work of supererogation tb
introduce the proofs that crowd the records df
| the past to show how far aboY all other stands
the g divine art'' of poesy. What are all THE
paintings statues, and regalia of Nersaille3
| of Fontainbleau and the Tuilleries, compared
with the Marseilles Hymna"H1 What the
kingly panoply of gold and gems heaped ;uP
in the Tower of London what the collections
| of the Royal Academy, or even the. time hal
lowed shrines of Westminster Abbey, when
compared with the songs Of Burns, and Di b.
den, and Campbell? Or what, has the, world
| that we would take in. exchange. for . Hail
Columbia" and the g StarSpangled Banner?n
| Well might the British statesman exclai %
| ilet me but write the ballads of a nation
and care not who makes its laws -
As far as the living, breathing man is above
| the cold insensate marble that Is made to re-
present him; as far as the radiant skies Of
summer are above the perishable canvass TO
| which the painter has transferred their feeble
| resemblance, so far is poetry above all other
| arts that have their mission to console and
| elevate and inspire the immortal mind Of
man. ...'. ak. taf - .,.r->
! In view of these facts, and considering the
| lamentable paucity of patriotic songs in my
distinguished and beloved country, and with
| the hope of being the humble means Of a pro-
per public feeling upon this interesting sub
| ject, I have been induced to offer and do
| hereby offer the sum of FIVE hundred dollars
| as a prize for the best National Poem, Ode Or
Epic ..r
| The rules which will. govern the payment
of this sum, are as follows: 81. e-t
1st [ have selected without consulting
| them) the following persons to act as Judges
or arbiters Of the prize thus offered 6 namely
Hon A. o. P. Nicholson, of Tennessee
| Hon Chas. Sumner, of U. S. Senate.
Hon. r. NJ. T. Hunter, do
| Hon Jas c. Jones, do
Hon J. r. Chandler, of O. S H Reps
Hon. addison White. do ~ do
Hon, Thos. II. Bayly, do do g.,
| Hon. D. T. Disney, do do
Hon. J. P. Kennedy. Secretary of the Navy.
| D. j. W. c. Evans, Of New Jersey. - o. 7
| d. Thos. Saunders. ,e .--, IT, CIT
Gen; R; Armstrong, of the he, Press '.-
| w. w. Seaton. ---
| Prof. Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution
| VIM. Seldom, late Treasurer of the Z. S.
| Rev. c. M. Butler, Episcopal Church.
I Rev. r. R. Gurley, Presbyterian Church.
l Rev. S. S. Roszen, M. E: Church. -,-
L ". !
| I'd. These gentlemen, or any three of tn en-
are hereby authorized to meet at the Smith
| sonian Institutute, on the second Monday of
December next, at such hour as they may DIP
point and there proceed to read and examine
| the various poems which may have been re-
ceived, and to determine which of them, is
| most meritorious and deserving of the prize
| And 1 hereby bind myself to pay the sum
| aforementioned forthwith, to whoever they
L Oh III 49, he, 49, T.
written, within the time prescribed. the best
National Patriotic Poem, and upon the repre-
! sentation that he or she is an American citizen
| Sd. All communications must be sent to me
at Washington fpost paid before the first
| Monday in December next, with "a full and
| complete conveyance of, the copyright to me
| and my heirs and assigns forever.
4th hereby bind and ob1igate myself to
| sell the poems thus sent to me as soon as prhc
ticable. for the highest price, and to give the
proceeds to the poor of, the city of Wash
ington.
9Th No poem will be considered as sub iect
| to this prize which shall not have been witt
| ten subsequent to this date, and received be-
fore the first Monday in December next
R. w LATHAM
WASHINGTON, FEB, TO- 1853. feb IT, .
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