Civil War: Max Ehrmann

Noted poet and author

Description:	Picture of Max Ehrmann with a bow and arrow.•aFrom the Historic Treasurer article published in the Terre Haute Tribune Star on March 16, 1986 (written by Susan J. Dehler): Max Ehrmann was a poet and philosopher. He chose to live in his native city--Terre Haute--rather than near the publishing houses of New York City. Perhaps this choice hurt his career. And yet, the midwestern environment and Ehrmann 19s community of friends provided inspiration for many of his writings.Born in 1872 in a small, one-story brick house on North Fourth Street, Ehrmann attended the Fourth District School in Terre Haute, where his teacher, Louise Peters, inspired him to become a voracious reader.In his journal he recalls a pleasant childhood in which the love of literature also was nurtured by his German parents. Family entertainment was reading aloud from the German classics or his father 19s recitation of poetry by Schiller.The wooden flute on display in the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley belonged to Ehrmann when he was 9 years old. It is stored in a wooden box, which was handmade by his father. The original key is still inside the box.Max Ehrmann Sr. was a cabinet maker and did woodwork on the interior of Pullman cars for the Pennsylvania Railroad during and after the Civil War. The father 19s talent is evident in the beautiful wooden inlay design on the top of the box.At the age of 22, Max Ehrmann Jr. graduated from DePauw University and attended Harvard where he studied law and philosophy. It was during those college days that he made his lifelong commitment to writing.When he returned to Terre Haute, however, he was forced to work at something else for financial support. For many years he worked as an attorney and a credit manager in his brother 19s manufacturing business. Yet, Ehrmann devoted many midnight hours to writing.Finally, at age 40, he was able to leave the business world behind and spend the rest of his life pursuing his art. He wrote more than 20 books and pamphlets and published many essays and poems in the newspapers and magazines.His most noted work, Desiderata, was written in 1927. However, the prose-poem gave him more fame posthumously than it did during his lifetime. It has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, translated into several foreign languages and reproduced in poster form. It was released as a record by Warner Brothers in 1971.Although Ehrmann once claimed he wrote this bit of prose for himself, its appeal has proven to be universal. Its beginning has become familiar to many:Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. . . .
Origin:	2005
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/178
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Ehrmann, Max, 1872-1945 Bows (Archery) Arrows Archery Poets Authors Famous Hoosiers People Sports Civil War -- Image

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