Vincent Godfrey Burns was Poet Laureate of Maryland

Poets Laureate of Maryland

This is a list of Poets Laureate of Maryland.-References:**...

, from 1962 until 1979.

Life

He graduated from Penn State University in 1916, Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, and Union Theological Seminary

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...

 in 1922. He studied at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 from 1922 to 1924.
He served in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, in the 163rd Field Artillery.
He was ordained as a Congregational minister.
He married Edna Rodenberger in 1924; they had one daughter.

He collaborated with his brother, Robert, on I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang

I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang

I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang is a book written by Robert Elliott Burns in 1932 and published by Grosset & Dunlap.The book tells the story of Burns' imprisonment on a chain gang in Georgia in the 1920s, his subsequent escape and the furor that developed...

.
It was which was made into a movie in 1932, by Warner Brothers, and was nominated for several Academy Awards. He was appointed Poet Laureate of Maryland in 1962, by Governor J. Millard Tawes

J. Millard Tawes

John Millard Tawes , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 54th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1959 to 1967. He remains the only Marylander to be elected to the three positions of State Treasurer, Comptroller, and Governor.-Early life and family:Tawes was born to...

. There were attempts to unseat him, he remained Poet Laureate until his death in 1979.

His papers are held at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland

When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...

, Maryland Historical Society

Maryland Historical Society

The Maryland Historical Society , founded in 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The society "collects, preserves, and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland's diverse heritage." MdHS has a museum, library, holds educational programs, and publishes...

,
Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

,
and Kent State University

Kent State University

Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...

.

Works

• The Master's Message for the New Day, Association Press, 1926
• The Red Harvest, a Cry for Peace, Macmillan, 1930; Granger Books, 1976
• I'm in Love with Life Dutton, 1932
• Female Convict Macauley, 1932; Pyramid, 1959
• America I Love You New World Books, 1957
• Flame Against the Night New World Books, 1959
• An American Poet Speaks New World Books, 1960
• Memories and Melodies of Maryland New World Books, 1964
• Maryland's Revolutionary Hero New World Books, 1965
• The Four Tests of a Loyal American Patriotic Women's Clubs of America, 1966
• Ballads of the Free State Bard New World Books, 1967
• Heart on Fire New World Books, 1969
• World on Fire New World Books, 1969
• Red Fuse on a World Bomb New World Books, 1969
• The Sunny Side of Life New World Books, 1970
• Poetry is Fun New World Books, 1971
• The Story of Old Glory New World Books, 1972
• Redwood: And Other Poems, reprint Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010, ISBN 9781166132651

• Vincent Godfrey Burns, Robert Elliott Burns, Out of these chains, New World Books, 1942

External links