Don Blanding
Encyclopedia
Donald Benson Blanding was an American poet who sentimentalized warm climates and was sometimes described as "poet laureate
of Hawaii". He was also known as a journalist, author of prose, and speaker.
Blanding was born in Kingfisher
, Oklahoma (during the period as a territory prior to that state's creation). He trained between 1913 and 1915 at the Art Institute of Chicago
.
He enlisted (for a year, or the duration of World War I plus up to six months) in the Canadian Army's predominantly 97th ("American Legion") Battalion. He then trained with them for trench warfare
for eight months in 1916, but leaving service under unknown circumstances a few days before the unit shipped out for Europe. (He omitted reference to that service and training a year later in joining the U.S. military.)
Blanding soon became suddenly fascinated by Hawaii and traveled there, staying for the year until his enlistment in the U.S. Army in December, 1917. Entering as an infantry
private, he underwent officer training and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant before being discharged in December, 1918, soon after the Armistice
.
He pursued further art studies in 1920, in Paris and London, traveled in Central America and the Yucatan
, and resumed living in Honolulu in 1921. Finding work as an artist in an advertising agency
, he happened into two years of writing poems published daily in the Honolulu Star Bulletin for an advertiser. These featured local people and events, and became well-known and popular – whether because of or in spite of always mentioning the Aji-No-Moto
brand of MSG
.
The popularity of these ad-poems led Blanding to follow the advice of newspaper colleagues by publishing a collection of his poetry in 1923. When his privately published 2000 copies quickly sold out, he followed it with a commercially published edition the same year, and with additional verse and prose books. For his fifth book in 1928, he no longer used a local or West Coast
publisher, but the New York publisher Dodd, Mead & Company. The result, Vagabond's House, was reviewed promptly by the New York Times, and was a great commercial success. By 1948 it went through nearly fifty printings in several editions that together sold over 150,000 copies.
In 1927, he suggested and founded the annual holiday, Lei Day, in Hawaii. While he remained strongly attached to Hawaii, his connections to the world of celebrities drew him often to the mainland, and his income made hotel life and multiple residences feasible. During his high-school years in Lawton, Oklahoma
, he is said to have saved the life of a 7- or 8-year-old neighbor, Lucille "Billie" Cassin, by picking her up and telephoning for a doctor, when she had jumped off her porch and deeply cut her foot on a broken milk bottle
. Cassin eventually took the stage name of Joan Crawford
, and their reacquaintance in 1936 on the set of The Gorgeous Hussy
, which starred her, suggests the level of his own celebrity.
Blanding married Dorothy Binney Putnam, a socialite, on June 13, 1940, and they lived in Fort Pierce
, Florida. They divorced in June 1947, and he had no descendants.
Blanding was strongly affected by U.S. entry into World War II, including the knowledge of his island paradise as a military target, the reactions of those he met on his lecture tours, and the fall of Bataan
. Bataan surrendered April 9, 1942, while he was on tour, and he wrote "Bataan Falls", 16 emotional lines in response. On April 25, he enlisted as a private at the age of 47. He served eleven months in the 1208th Service Corps Unit, Infantry, and was discharged as a corporal.
He died of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles on June 9, 1957 at the age of 62.
begins
then describes a home filled with the mostly exotic mementos its poet
collected in years of wandering the world's seaports – or at least might have collected if his travels had not interfered – and closes by admitting
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
of Hawaii". He was also known as a journalist, author of prose, and speaker.
Blanding was born in Kingfisher
Kingfisher, Oklahoma
Kingfisher is a city in and the county seat of Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,380 at the 2000 census. It is the former home and namesake of Kingfisher College.-History:...
, Oklahoma (during the period as a territory prior to that state's creation). He trained between 1913 and 1915 at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
.
He enlisted (for a year, or the duration of World War I plus up to six months) in the Canadian Army's predominantly 97th ("American Legion") Battalion. He then trained with them for trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
for eight months in 1916, but leaving service under unknown circumstances a few days before the unit shipped out for Europe. (He omitted reference to that service and training a year later in joining the U.S. military.)
Blanding soon became suddenly fascinated by Hawaii and traveled there, staying for the year until his enlistment in the U.S. Army in December, 1917. Entering as an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
private, he underwent officer training and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant before being discharged in December, 1918, soon after the Armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
.
He pursued further art studies in 1920, in Paris and London, traveled in Central America and the Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, and resumed living in Honolulu in 1921. Finding work as an artist in an advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
, he happened into two years of writing poems published daily in the Honolulu Star Bulletin for an advertiser. These featured local people and events, and became well-known and popular – whether because of or in spite of always mentioning the Aji-No-Moto
Ajinomoto
Ajinomoto Co. Inc. , is a Japanese food and chemical corporation which produces seasonings, cooking oils, TV dinners, sweeteners, amino acids and pharmaceuticals...
brand of MSG
Monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids....
.
The popularity of these ad-poems led Blanding to follow the advice of newspaper colleagues by publishing a collection of his poetry in 1923. When his privately published 2000 copies quickly sold out, he followed it with a commercially published edition the same year, and with additional verse and prose books. For his fifth book in 1928, he no longer used a local or West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
publisher, but the New York publisher Dodd, Mead & Company. The result, Vagabond's House, was reviewed promptly by the New York Times, and was a great commercial success. By 1948 it went through nearly fifty printings in several editions that together sold over 150,000 copies.
In 1927, he suggested and founded the annual holiday, Lei Day, in Hawaii. While he remained strongly attached to Hawaii, his connections to the world of celebrities drew him often to the mainland, and his income made hotel life and multiple residences feasible. During his high-school years in Lawton, Oklahoma
Lawton, Oklahoma
The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, he is said to have saved the life of a 7- or 8-year-old neighbor, Lucille "Billie" Cassin, by picking her up and telephoning for a doctor, when she had jumped off her porch and deeply cut her foot on a broken milk bottle
Sherd
In archaeology, a sherd is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels as well....
. Cassin eventually took the stage name of Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, and their reacquaintance in 1936 on the set of The Gorgeous Hussy
The Gorgeous Hussy
The Gorgeous Hussy is a 1936 film directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Joan Crawford and Robert Taylor. The film's plot tells a fictionalized account of President of the United States Andrew Jackson and an innkeeper's daughter...
, which starred her, suggests the level of his own celebrity.
Blanding married Dorothy Binney Putnam, a socialite, on June 13, 1940, and they lived in Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...
, Florida. They divorced in June 1947, and he had no descendants.
Blanding was strongly affected by U.S. entry into World War II, including the knowledge of his island paradise as a military target, the reactions of those he met on his lecture tours, and the fall of Bataan
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
. Bataan surrendered April 9, 1942, while he was on tour, and he wrote "Bataan Falls", 16 emotional lines in response. On April 25, he enlisted as a private at the age of 47. He served eleven months in the 1208th Service Corps Unit, Infantry, and was discharged as a corporal.
He died of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles on June 9, 1957 at the age of 62.
"Vagabond's House"
He published his long poem "Vagabond's House" several times. (It was in the first, private, printing of Leaves from a Grass-House in 1923; the commercially published edition of the same book, later that year, included it with the title changed to "Aloha House". In 1928 he restored the original "Vagabond's House" title, making it the title poem of another collection.) Its detailed fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
begins
- When I have a house – as I sometime may –
- I'll suit my fancy in every way.
then describes a home filled with the mostly exotic mementos its poet
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
collected in years of wandering the world's seaports – or at least might have collected if his travels had not interfered – and closes by admitting
- It's just a dream house anyway.