Bessie Anderson Stanley
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth-Anne "Bessie" Anderson Stanley (born before 1900 - d. 1952) is the author of the poem Success (What is success? or What Constitutes Success?), which is often incorrectly misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson
or Robert Louis Stevenson
.
Her poem was written in 1904 for a contest held in Brown Book Magazine, by George Livingston Richards Co. of Boston, Massachusetts Mrs. Stanley, of Lincoln, Kansas, submitted the words in the form of an essay, rather than as a poem. The competition was to answer the question "What is success?" in 100 words or less. Mrs. Stanley won the first prize of $250.
Written in verse form, it reads:
The poem was in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
in the 1930s or 1940s but was mysteriously removed in the 1960s. It was again included in the seventeenth edition. However, it does appear in a 1911 book, More Heart Throbs, volume 2, on pages 1–2.
Ann Landers (and her sister Abby) are also said to have misattributed the poem to Emerson and her concession to a public correction is in The Ann Landers Encyclopedia.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
or Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
.
Her poem was written in 1904 for a contest held in Brown Book Magazine, by George Livingston Richards Co. of Boston, Massachusetts Mrs. Stanley, of Lincoln, Kansas, submitted the words in the form of an essay, rather than as a poem. The competition was to answer the question "What is success?" in 100 words or less. Mrs. Stanley won the first prize of $250.
Written in verse form, it reads:
- He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much;
- Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;
- Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
- Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it;
- Who has left the world better than he found it,
- Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
- Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;
- Whose life was an inspiration;
- Whose memory a benediction.
The poem was in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartlett's, is an American reference work that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotations...
in the 1930s or 1940s but was mysteriously removed in the 1960s. It was again included in the seventeenth edition. However, it does appear in a 1911 book, More Heart Throbs, volume 2, on pages 1–2.
Ann Landers (and her sister Abby) are also said to have misattributed the poem to Emerson and her concession to a public correction is in The Ann Landers Encyclopedia.