Joyce Kilmer Joyce Kilmer ( born as Alfred Joyce Kilmer ; 6 December 1886 – 30 July 1918 ) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled " Trees " ( 1913 ) , which was published in the collection " Trees and Other Poems " in 1914 . Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Roman Catholic religious faith , Kilmer was also a journalist , literary critic , lecturer , and editor . While most of his works are largely unknown , a select few of his poems remain popular and are published frequently in anthologies . Several critics — including both Kilmer ' s contemporaries and modern scholars — have disparaged Kilmer ' s work as being too simple , overly sentimental , and suggested that his style was far too traditional , even archaic . Many writers , including notably Ogden Nash , have parodied Kilmer ' s work and style — as attested by the many parodies of " Trees " . At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I , Kilmer was considered the leading American Roman Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation , whom critics often compared to British contemporaries G . K . Chesterton ( 1874 – 1936 ) and Hilaire Belloc ( 1870 – 1953 ) . He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment ( the famous " Fighting 69th " ) in 1917 . He was killed by a sniper ' s bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31 . He was married to Aline Murray , also an accomplished poet and author , with whom he had five children . Biography . Early years and education : 1886 – 1908 . Kilmer was born 6 December 1886 in New Brunswick , New Jersey , the fourth and youngest child , of Annie Ellen Kilburn ( 1849 – 1932 ) , a minor writer and composer , and Dr . Frederick Barnett Kilmer ( 1851 – 1934 ) , a physician and analytical chemist employed by the Johnson and Johnson Company and inventor of the company ' s baby powder . He was named Alfred Joyce Kilmer after two priests at Christ Church in New Brunswick : Alfred R . Taylor , the curate ; and the Rev . Dr . Elisha Brooks Joyce ( 1857 – 1926 ) , the rector . Christ Church is the oldest Episcopal parish in New Brunswick and the Kilmer family were parishioners . Rector Joyce , who served the parish from 1883 to 1916 , baptised the young Kilmer . Kilmer ' s birthplace in New Brunswick , where the Kilmer family lived from 1886 to 1892 , is still standing , and houses a small museum to Kilmer , as well as a few Middlesex County government offices . Kilmer entered Rutgers College Grammar School ( now Rutgers Preparatory School ) in 1895 at the age of 8 . During his years at the Grammar School , Kilmer was editor - in - chief of the school ' s paper , the " Argo " , and loved the classics but had difficulty with Greek . He won the first Lane Classical Prize , for oratory , and obtained a scholarship to Rutgers College which he would attend the following year . Despite his difficulties with Greek and mathematics , he stood at the head of his class in preparatory school . After graduating from Rutgers College Grammar School in 1904 , he continued his education at Rutgers College ( now Rutgers University ) from 1904 to 1906 . At Rutgers , Kilmer was associate editor of the " Targum " , the campus newspaper , and a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity . However , he was unable to complete the curriculum ' s rigorous mathematics requirement and was asked to repeat his sophomore year . Under pressure from his mother , Kilmer transferred to Columbia University in New York City . At Columbia , Kilmer was vice - president of the Philolexian Society ( a literary society ) , associate editor of " Columbia Spectator " ( the campus newspaper ) , and member of the Debating Union . He completed his Bachelor of Arts ( A . B . ) degree and graduated from Columbia on 23 May 1908 . Shortly after graduation , on 9 June 1908 , he married Aline Murray ( 1888 – 1941 ) , a fellow poet to whom he had been engaged since his sophomore year at Rutgers . The Kilmers had five children : Kenton Sinclair Kilmer ( 1909 – 1995 ) ; Michael Barry Kilmer ( 1916 – 1927 ) ; Deborah ( " Sister Michael " ) Clanton Kilmer ( 1914 – 1999 ) who was a Catholic nun at the Saint Benedict ’ s Monastery ; Rose Kilburn Kilmer ( 1912 – 1917 ) ; and Christopher Kilmer ( 1917 – 1984 ) . Years of writing and faith : 1909 – 1917 . In the autumn of 1908 , Kilmer was employed teaching Latin at Morristown High School in Morristown , New Jersey . At this time , he began to submit essays to " Red Cross Notes " ( including his first published piece — an essay on the " Psychology of Advertising " ) and his early poems to literary periodicals . Kilmer also wrote book reviews for " The Literary Digest " , " Town & Country " , " The Nation " , and " The New York Times " . By June 1909 , Kilmer had abandoned any aspirations to continue teaching and relocated to New York City where he focused solely on developing a career as a writer . From 1909 – 1912 , Kilmer was employed by Funk and Wagnalls , which was preparing an edition of " The Standard Dictionary " that would be published in 1912 . According to Hillis , Kilmer ' s job " was to define ordinary words assigned to him at five cents for each word defined . This was a job at which one would ordinarily earn ten to twelve dollars a week , but Kilmer attacked the task with such vigor and speed that it was soon thought wisest to put him on a regular salary . " In 1911 , Kilmer ' s first book of verse , entitled " Summer of Love " was published . Kilmer would later write that " . . . some of the poems in it , those inspired by genuine love , are not things of which to be ashamed , and you , understanding , would not be offended by the others . " In 1912 , Kilmer became a special writer for the " New York Times Review of Books " and the " New York Times Sunday Magazine " and was often engaged in lecturing . He moved to Mahwah , New Jersey , where he resided until his service and death in World War I . By this time , he had become established as a published poet , and as a popular lecturer . According to Robert Holliday , Kilmer " frequently neglected to make any preparation for his speeches , not even choosing a subject until the beginning of the dinner which was to culminate in a specimen of his oratory . His constant research for the dictionary , and , later on , for his New York Times articles , must have given him a store of knowledge at his fingertips to be produced at a moment ' s notice for these emergencies . " When the Kilmers ' daughter Rose ( 1912 – 1917 ) was stricken with poliomyelitis ( also known as infantile paralysis ) shortly after birth , they turned to their religious faith for comfort . A series of correspondence between Kilmer and Father James J . Daly led the Kilmers to convert to Roman Catholicism and they were received in the church in 1913 . In one of these letters , Kilmer writes that he " believed in the Catholic position , the Catholic view of ethics and aesthetics , for a long time " and he " wanted something not intellectual , some conviction not mental – in fact I wanted Faith . " Kilmer would stop " every morning for months " on his way " to the office and prayed for faith " claiming that when " faith did come , it came , I think , by way of my little paralyzed daughter . Her lifeless hands led me ; I think her tiny feet know beautiful paths . You understand this and it gives me a selfish pleasure to write it down . " With the publication of " Trees " in the magazine " Poetry " in August 1913 , Kilmer gained immense popularity as a poet across the United States . He had established himself as a successful lecturer — particularly one seeking to reach a Catholic audience . His close friend and editor , Robert Holliday , wrote that it " is not an unsupported assertion to say that he was in his time and place the laureate of the Catholic Church . " " Trees and Other Poems " ( 1914 ) was published the following year . Over the next few years , Kilmer was prolific in his output — managing an intense schedule of lectures , publishing a large number of essays and literary criticism , and writing poetry . In 1915 , he became poetry editor of " Current Literature " and contributing editor of " Warner ' s Library of the World ' s Best Literature " . In 1916 and 1917 , before the American entry into World War I , Kilmer would publish four books : " The Circus and Other Essays " ( 1916 ) , a series of interviews with literary personages entitled " Literature in the Making " ( 1917 ) , " Main Street and Other Poems " ( 1917 ) , and " Dreams and Images : An Anthology of Catholic Poets " ( 1917 ) . War years : 1917 – 1918 . In April 1917 , a few days after the United States entered World War I , Kilmer enlisted in the Seventh Regiment of the New York National Guard . In August , Kilmer was assigned as a statistician with the U . S . 69th Infantry Regiment ( better known as the " Fighting 69th " and later re - designated the 165th Infantry Regiment ) , of the 42nd " Rainbow " Division , and quickly rose to the rank of sergeant . Though he was eligible for commission as an officer and often recommended for such posts during the course of the war , Kilmer refused stating that he would rather be a sergeant in the Fighting 69th than an officer in any other regiment . Shortly before his deployment to Europe , the Kilmers ' daughter Rose had died , and twelve days later , their son Christopher was born . Before his departure , Kilmer had contracted with publishers to write a book about the war , deciding upon the title " Here and There with the Fighting Sixty - Ninth " . The regiment arrived in France in November 1917 , and Kilmer wrote to his wife that he had not written " anything in prose or verse since I got here — except statistics — but I ' ve stored up a lot of memories to turn into copy when I get a chance . " Kilmer did not write such a book ; however , toward the end of the year , he did find time to write prose sketches and poetry . The most notable of his poems during this period was " Rouge Bouquet " ( 1918 ) which commemorated the deaths of two dozen members of his regiment in an German artillery barrage on American trench positions in the Rouge Bouquet forest north - east of the French village of Baccarat . At the time , this was a relatively quiet sector of the front , but the first battalion was struck by a German heavy artillery bombardment on the afternoon of 7 March 1918 that buried 21 men of the unit , killing 19 ( of which 14 remained entombed ) . Kilmer sought more hazardous duty and was transferred to the military intelligence section of his regiment , in April 1918 . In a letter to his wife , Aline , he remarked : " Now I ' m doing work I love – and work you may be proud of . None of the drudgery of soldiering , but a double share of glory and thrills . " According to Hillis , Kilmer ' s fellow soldiers had accorded him much respect for his battlefield demeanour — " He was worshipped by the men about him . I have heard them speak with awe of his coolness and his nerve in scouting patrols in no man ' s land . This coolness and his habit of choosing , with typical enthusiasm , the most dangerous and difficult missions , led to his death . " Death and burial . During the Second Battle of Marne , there was heavy fighting throughout the last days of July 1918 . On 30 July 1918 , Kilmer volunteered to accompany Major William " Wild Bill " Donovan ( later , in World War II , the founder of the Office of Strategic Services — forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency ) when Donovan ' s Battalion ( 1 – 165th Infantry ) was sent to lead the day ' s attack . During the course of the day , Kilmer led a scouting party to find the position of a German machine gun . When his comrades found him , some time later , they thought at first that he was peering over the edge of a little hill , where he had crawled for a better view . When he did not answer their call , they ran to him and found him dead . According to Father Francis P . Duffy : “ A bullet had pierced his brain . His body was carried in and buried by the side of Ames . God rest his dear and gallant soul . ” A sniper ' s bullet likely killed him immediately . According to military records , Kilmer died on the battlefield near Muercy Farm , beside the Ourcq River near the village of Seringes - et - Nesles , in France , on 30 July 1918 at the age of 31 . For his valor , Kilmer was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre ( War Cross ) by the French Republic . Kilmer was buried in the Oise - Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial , near Fere - en - Tardenois , Aisne , Picardy , France . A cenotaph erected to his memory is located on the Kilmer family plot in Elmwood Cemetery , in New Brunswick , New Jersey . A memorial mass was held at St . Patrick ' s Cathedral in Manhattan on 14 October 1918 . Criticism and influence . Trees . Joyce Kilmer ' s reputation as a poet is staked largely on the widespread popularity of one poem — " Trees " ( 1913 ) . It was first published in the August 1913 issue of " Poetry : A Magazine of Verse " which had begun publishing the year before in Chicago , Illinois and was included as the title poem in a collection of poems " Trees and Other Poems " ( 1914 ) . According to Kilmer ' s oldest son , Kenton , the poem was written on 2 February 1913 when the family resided in Mahwah , New Jersey . Many locations including Rutgers University ( where Kilmer attended for two years ) , University of Notre Dame , as well as historians in Mahwah , New Jersey and in other places , have boasted that a specific tree was the inspiration for Kilmer ' s poem . However , Kenton Kilmer refutes these claims , remarking that , The popular appeal of this simple poem is likely the source of its endurance despite the continuing negative opinion of the poem ' s merits from scholars and critics . According to Robert Holliday , Kilmer ' s friend and editor , " Trees " speaks " with authentic song to the simplest of hearts " and that " ( t ) he exquisite title poem now so universally known , made his reputation more than all the rest he had written put together . That impeccable lyric which made for immediate widespread popularity . " Its popularity has also led to parodies of the poem — some by noted poets and writers . The pattern of its first lines ( " I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree . " ) is of seemingly simple rhyme and meter and easy to mimic along with the poem ' s choice of metaphors . One of the best known parodies is " Song of the Open Road " by American humorist and poet Ogden Nash ( 1902 – 1971 ) : Influences upon Kilmer ' s verse . Kilmer ' s early works were inspired by , and were imitative of , the poetry of Algernon Charles Swinburne , Gerard Manley Hopkins , Ernest Dowson , Aubrey Beardsley , and William Butler Yeats ( and the Celtic Revival ) . It was later through the influence of works by Coventry Patmore , Francis Thompson , and those of Alice Meynell and her children Viola Meynell and Francis Meynell , that Kilmer seems to have become interested in Catholicism . Kilmer wrote of his influences : Because he was initially raised Episcopalian ( or Anglican ) , Kilmer became literary editor of the Anglican weekly , " The Churchman " , before his conversion to Catholicism . During this time he did considerable research into 16th and 17th century Anglican poets as well as metaphysical , or mystic poets of that time , including George Herbert , Thomas Traherne , Robert Herrick , Bishop Coxe , and Robert Stephen Hawker ( the eccentric vicar of the Church of Saint Morwenna and Saint John the Baptist at Morwenstow in Cornwall ) — the latter whom he referred to as " a coast life - guard in a cassock . " These poets also had an influence on Kilmer ' s writings . Critics compared Kilmer to British Catholic writers Hilaire Belloc and G . K . Chesterton — suggesting that his reputation might have risen to the level where he would have been considered their American counterpart if not for his untimely death . Criticism of Kilmer ' s work . Indeed , Kilmer ' s death at age 31 removed from him the opportunity to develop into a more mature poet . Because " Trees " is often dismissed by modern critics and scholars as simple verse , much of Kilmer ' s work ( especially his literary criticism ) has slipped into obscurity . Only a very few of his poems have appeared in anthologies , and with the exception of " Trees " — and to a much lesser extent " Rouge Bouquet " ( 1917 – 1918 ) — almost none have obtained lasting widespread popularity . The entire corpus of Kilmer ' s work was produced between 1909 and 1918 when Romanticism and sentimental lyric poetry fell out of favor and Modernism took root — especially with the influence of the Lost Generation . In the years after Kilmer ' s death , poetry went in drastically different directions , as is seen especially in the work of T . S . Eliot and Ezra Pound . Kilmer ' s verse is conservative and traditional , and does not break the formal rules of poetics — he can be considered as one of the last poets of the Romantic era . His style has been criticized for not breaking free of traditional modes of rhyme , meter , and theme ; and for being too sentimental to be taken seriously .