Stuart Merrill

Stuart Fitzrandolph Merrill (August 1, 1863 in Hempstead, New York[1] – December 1, 1915 in Versailles, France) was an American poet, who wrote mostly in the French language.

In 1866, his father George received a diplomatic appointment to Paris, where Merrill would learn French and live for the next 19 years.

Merrill ran a weekly journal, Le fou, before returning to the States in 1884 to attend law school.

[1] On April 15, 1887, he went to Madison Square Theater in New York to hear Walt Whitman give his famous "Death of Abraham Lincoln" lecture.

"[2] Also in 1887, Merrill published his first book of poems, Les gammes, in Paris, receiving wide critical acclaim in Europe.

Portrait of the young Stuart Merrill.
Stuart Merrill in old age.