Charles Badger Clark | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1883-01-01)January 1, 1883 Albia, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | September 26, 1957(1957-09-26) (aged 74) |
| Alma mater | Dakota Wesleyan University(did not graduate) |
| Occupation | Poet |
Charles Badger Clark (January 1, 1883 – September 26, 1957) was an Americancowboy poet,[1][2][3][4] and the firstpoet laureate ofSouth Dakota.[5]
Charles Badger Clark was born on January 1, 1883, inAlbia, Iowa.[1][6] His family moved toDakota Territory, where his father served as aMethodist preacher inHuron,Mitchell,Deadwood andHot Springs,[1][2][3] preaching atCalamity Jane's funeral.[5] Charles dropped out ofDakota Wesleyan University after he clashed with one of its founders,C. B. Clark.[1][6] He travelled toCuba, returned toDeadwood, South Dakota, where he contractedtuberculosis, then moved toTombstone, Arizona to assuage his illness with the dry weather.[1][3][4][6] He returned again to South Dakota in 1910 to take care of his ailing father.[1][2][3][4]
While in Arizona, Clark had spent four years watching a remote ranch. With time on his hands, he wrote letters back to his family in South Dakota, sometimes describing his new world in verse. His stepmother liked one of his Arizona poems so much that she submitted it toThe Pacific Monthly magazine. Pacific published it in 1907 as the poemRidin' and sent Clark a check for $10. He later recalled thinking, "If they'll pay for such stuff, why here's the job I've been looking for all along - no boss, no regular hours [or] responsibility."[5]
Clark published his first poetry collection in 1917. In 1925, he moved to a cabin inCuster State Park in theBlack Hills of South Dakota, where he lived for thirty years and continued to write poetry.[1][2][4][6][7]
Clark was named the Poet Laureate of South Dakota by GovernorLeslie Jensen in 1937.[2][8] His work was published inSunset Magazine,The Pacific Monthly,Arizona Highways,Colliers,Century Magazine, theRotarian, andScribner's.[8]
Clark died on September 26, 1957, in Rapid City, South Dakota.[3] He's buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Hot Springs, South Dakota (Block 4, Section M, Lot 7).
His poem entitled "Lead My America" was performed by theFred Waring Chorus in 1957.[6]Pete Seeger included "Spanish Is the Loving Tongue" on his 1960 albumThe Rainbow Quest.[5] In 1969,Bob Dylan recorded "Spanish is the Loving Tongue".[3] InAmerica by Heart,Sarah Palin quotes his poem entitled "A Cowboy's Prayer" as one of the prayers she likes to recite.[9] In 1989, he was inducted into theHall of Great Westerners of theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[10]
