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Aleta George

Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California's First Poet Laureate Paperback – Illustrated, March 10, 2015

by Aleta George (Author)

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Bronze medal winner, 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards (biography)

Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California's First Poet Laureateis a new biography about a pioneer poet, Oakland's first publiclibrarian, and the most popular literary ambassador in the earlyAmerican West. In post-Gold Rush San Francisco, she was known as the pearl of her tribe, a tribe that included Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and John Muir. Jack London and Isadora Duncan considered her their literary godmother, and John Greenleaf Whittier knew more of her poems by heart than she did his. Regardless of the acclaim from others, Coolbrith faced a series of challenges throughout her life that tested her devotion to her art. In the end, she put her full faith in poetry and her story reveals the saving grace of creativity in a woman's life.

George's deftly told and deeply researched book follows the struggles and triumphs of Coolbrith from her birth in 1841 as a niece of Mormon founder Joseph Smith to her death in 1928 as California's most beloved poet.California crowned Coolbrith its first poet laureate in 1915 during San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and 2015 marks the centennial of her being named America's first state laureate.

Print length

362 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Shifting Plates Press
Publication date

March 10, 2015
Dimensions

6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

098612401X
ISBN-13

978-0986124013
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"George's book enriches the kaleidoscope of American literary figures and may bring new attention to this regional writer."
--Publishers Weekly (BookLife)

"George's prose is finely turned yet unobtrusive throughout. It is her enthusiasm and affection for Coolbrith and California that gives this biography its vitality and crystal clear resonance."
--Keith Skinner, Extract(s), Daily Dose of Lit

"Coolbrith's life is so captivating that it has been waiting not just for another biographer, but for a first-rate storyteller."
--David Alpaugh, Ina Coolbrith Circle

"In a book marked by literary grace and conviction, Aleta George presents a nuanced yet compelling portrait of a major California figure." --Malcolm Margolin, Heyday Books

"This book is engaging and detailed in a way that draws me in, not blocks me out. I'm totally in love with the time and place of [Ina's] story."
--Cal Tabuena-Frolli, Graphic Designer, The Litography Project

About the Author

Aleta George writes about nature and culture in California. Her work has been featured in Smithsonian.com, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and Bay Nature magazine. This is her first book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shifting Plates Press; Illustrated edition (March 10, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 362 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 098612401X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0986124013
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.07 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,899 in Author Biographies
- #13,073 in Women's Biographies

Customer Reviews:
25 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Rosemarie Pierson

I'm from California and love her San Francisco history

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

I have been enchanted with Ina Coolbrith every since I got her "purple book" in the 80's. I'm thrilled that Aleta has taken her life to the next level. Right now I am living in Nauvoo for a year (as an LDS missionary) and unfortunately not many know about her here. In my opinion, outside of the LDS ancestors that came from Nauvoo, Ina is probably the most famous person who came out of Nauvoo from the Mormon era. I'm from California and love her San Francisco history. I just found the presentation Aleta gave at the 2015 celebration of 100 years as Poet Laurent - but it was a little hard to hear all of in. When a question was asked at the end a gentleman talk about another book he got during the Salt Lake Olympics, but I couldn't hear the author, Lucille Bolt is what I thought I heard, but I couldn't find anything by her.

Next month they do the yearly Nauvoo Untold Stories, I wanted to give a presentation on Ina, but mine wasn't accepted. It's a community thing and they don't want it to be to heavy on the Mormons since there are the German and Icarians who came here after, and of course Native American and explorers before them.

I found a episode on Death Valley Days that with June Lochart playing Ina.

Is there a yearly conference or get together on her? I'm from Sacramento and would love to join.

Thank you,

Rose Pierson

One person found this helpful

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Colleen Fliedner

Beautifully written and well researched

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

While researching the life of Ina Coolbrith for a California history book I'm writing, I happened across this book on Amazon. I'm a former research historian and have written a number of books, so I'm very picky about nonfiction books. Aleta George is an excellent writer, bringing to light many elements of Ina's life in a fascinating true story. I highly recommend the book to anyone who likes reading biographies, poetry, or California history.

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spideri

Our first Poet Laureate: A California Virago

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015

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California poet Ina Coolbrith played a well-known and sybil-like role in advising some of California's ablest young writers.
Her own life, wonderfully told here by Aleta George, was every bit as inspiring. Escape from polygamy and a brutal marriage,
Ina Coolbrith forged her own way at a time when few women did. She gained great admiration and important admirers in the literary world
for her poetry and blazed a path for women writers to follow. The Russian Hill park at the crest of Taylor and Vallejo Streets which carries her nameI is a fine place to reflect on this preceptive and interesting book and the life it describes. Aleta George's book carries on Ina Coolbrith's spirit and her role as one of California's legendarily beautiful, intelligent, and free-thinking Amazons!

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Michael G. Jones

First poet laureate of California in 1915

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2020

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Ina Coolbrith is a fascinating personality who has been overlooked for the most part in California history. She is the grand daughter of Mormon Joseph Smith, the first female to cross the Sierra Nevada over the Beckwourth Pass, a poet who, along with male peers like Mark Twain, established California literature at the turn of the century. There are other unique aspects to her story that are well recounted in this fascinating account authored by Aleta George.

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Very easy to read and incredibly detailed bio of one of California's state treasures. Loved it!

2 people found this helpful

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NRaleigh

not only an expansive academic history of an amazing woman poet( with an incredible and heartbreaking personal story) ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

Aleta George has written, not only an expansive academic history of an amazing woman poet( with an incredible and heartbreaking personal story) but a beautiful piece of literature herself. It is a perfect blend of fact and lyricism ; non-fiction at its best.

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Edward Kuehn

A must read for anyone interested in historical non-fiction as well as great American authors.

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2018

Drawing from a voluminous amount of material, author Mrs.George, describes Ina Coolbrith's multifaceted life in wonderful detail. The author follows three story lines in telling Ina's story: her personal life, her writings, and briefly, a partial history of California, all which had a strong influence on Ina's life and body of work. I was surprised to learn about the number of other poets and writers Ina crossed paths with during her life, like Jack London, John Muir and Mark Twain, just to mention a few. I, like many in the general population, was not aware of who Ina Coolbrith was or her work, and read this book based on a friends' suggestion, and truly enjoyed it. I was happy to also learn that part of her legacy continues to be curated by the “Ina Coolbrith Circle” poetry group, which she started almost a century ago. A must read for anyone interested in historical non-fiction as well as great American authors.

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2016

Rarely has a meticulously researched biographical history transcended its genre to this degree. So compelling is the story, and so well crafted is the writing, that upon finishing this remarkable work I felt that I had been given an advanced copy of the screenplay to a yet to be made Merchant Ivory film. Perhaps it is understandable that in post-gold rush California, a place where initiative, ambition, and boundless resources came together, a smart, beautiful, and somewhat traumatized young woman could find a place for herself among the men who would define what it is to be a western writer. Aleta George meticulously and gracefully treads the labyrinth of primary sources which show Coolbrith to be muse, colleague, mentor, friend, rival, confidant, and den mother for the likes of Mark Twain, Brett Harte, Charles Stoddard, Jack London, Jon Muir and a host of other California giants. She plays early supporting roles in notable California institutions such as University of California, the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, and, remarkably in the exclusively male Bohemian Club. If you have an interest in California, or western writers, or strong and capable women ahead of their time, or if you just want a biography that reads like a "that can't possibly be true" historical fiction, you should buy this book. Read it and brag that you were among the first to find this gem when the movie comes out...

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Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California's First Poet Laureate Paperback – Illustrated, March 10, 2015

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