William F. Kirk
William Frederick Kirk (1877-1927) was a well-known poet, songwriter, humorist and baseball writer. [1] A longtime newspaperman, he first worked at the Chippewa Falls Herald and the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Contents |
[edit] Career
In 1905 he signed a contract with the Hearst organization and moved to New York, where he was employed at two of William Randolph Hearst's papers: the New York American and the New York Evening Journal. [2] After returning to Chippewa Falls in 1918 he continued working as a nationally syndicated columnist. [3]
Kirk was born in Mankato, Minnesota in 1877 and came to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin at the age of four. He graduated from high school there and began his career in journalism on a local paper. His humor column, “Fleeting Fancies”, was a popular feature at the Chippewa Falls Herald and later at the Milwaukee Sentinel. [1] It brought him to the attention of metropolitan dailies and was the name of his first book, published in 1904. Kirk's lyrics drew comparisons with those of other poets, whose work he sometimes parodied: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Eugene Field and James Whitcomb Riley.[4]
For eighteen years Kirk was distributed by the International Features Syndicate and reached a national audience as he wrote on subjects as diverse as baseball, temperance, women's suffrage and divorce. [5] His pieces were seen in everything from “The Smart Set” to trade union publications.
Recent works on baseball's deadball era have had numerous examples of Kirk’s sports writing. One can, for instance, read his account of Fred Merkle's infamous blunder [6] or his rhyming tribute to the Flying Dutchman, Honus Wagner. [7] The Unforgettable Season by Gordon H. Fleming recounts the 1908 National League pennant race through contemporary press coverage by Kirk and others. [8] In 1911 KIrk published a collection of baseball ballads called Right Off The Bat.
[edit] Later years
In 1918 Kirk moved back to Chippewa Falls, desiring to live among old friends in his boyhood home. He belonged to several fraternal organizations and was a prominent figure in the town. [9]
Failing health caused his early retirement, and after an illness of many months he died of cancer in 1927. [10]
[edit] The Norsk Nightingale
William F. Kirk is especially remembered for his Scandinavian dialect poetry, written for a daily column and later published in book form. His byline, “The Norsk Nightingale”, was a familiar sight in newspapers across the country. His first collection of dialect verse, The Norsk Nightingale, [11] presented a Norwegian lumberjack from the Upper Midwest. It was his most popular book with sixteen editions printed over a period of thirty-five years. At the time of its publication one reviewer wrote: “Novelty and freshness, and no little ingenuity as a parodist, salute us in this volume of dialect verse hailing from the haunts of the lumberjack or, more locally, northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, where dwell so many neo-Americans of Scandinavian birth.” [12]
His second volume of dialect verse, Songs of Sergeant Swanson, [13] reflected the experiences of a Swedish-American doughboy in World War I. A book of more limited appeal, it only had one edition.
Kirk's ethnic poetry put forth the notion that Scandinavian-Americans were good-natured but a little slow. This humorous stereotype had been employed in the 1890s by the playwright Gus Heege in such theatrical works as “Ole Olson” and “Yon Yonson”.[14]
[edit]
Scandinavian dialect humor took other forms: vaudeville sketches, joke books, movies, records and sheet music. In quick succession Tin Pan Alley published “Hello Wisconsin”, “Holy Yumpin Yiminy” and “Scandinavia" (Sing Dose Song And Make Dose Music). The popular recording artists Eleonora and Ethel Olson were known for their warm depictions of immigrant life in such stories as “The Old Sogning Woman” and “A Norwegian Woman Using the Telephone”.
El Brendel, Yogi Yorgesson, Stan Boreson and countless others have followed in Kirk’s footsteps, and there is still a receptive audience — especially among Scandinavian-Americans — for tales of lumberjacks and sergeants with more heart than brain.
[edit] Books by William F. Kirk
- Fleeting Fancies 1904
- The Norsk Nightingale 1905
- Right Off The Bat 1911
- Songs Of Sergeant Swanson 1918
- Out Of The Current 1923
- The Harp Of Fate 1925
[edit] Songs by William F. Kirk
- Steve William F. Kirk and Harry von Tilzer 1910
- I'm Going Down To Beat My Wife William F. Kirk and Harry von Tilzer c. 1910
- Flirt lyrics by Edward Madden and William F. Kirk, music by Henri Bereny 1911
- Little White Rose Of Mine William F. Kirk and Robert Matthews 1911
- Flag Of My Heart William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari 1917
- The Other Love William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari 1917
- The Rainbow Of Love William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari 1917
- The Harbor Of Dreams William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari 1918
- A Sunset Song William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari 1918
- Red Rose Of Love, Bloom Again William F. Kirk and J. Stanton Gladwin 1920
- Speak For Yureself, Yohn William F. Kirk and Henry S. Sawyer 1922
- "Flirt" was in the Broadway musical "Little Boy Blue".
- "Flag Of My Heart" was recorded by Reinald Werrenrath for Victor Records.
- "The Rainbow Of Love" was recorded by John McCormack for Victor Records.
[edit] References
- ^ a b New York Times March 26, 1927.
- ^ Johnny Kling: A Baseball Biography by Gil Bogen, (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006).
- ^ Ironwood Daily Globe March 25, 1927.
- ^ The Syracuse Post-Standard June 17, 1905.
- ^ Johnny Kling: A Baseball Biography by Gil Bogen, (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006).
- ^ The Complete Armchair Book of Baseball edited by John Thorn, (New York: Galahad Books, 1997).
- ^ Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's Flying Dutchman by Arthur D. Hittner, (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996).
- ^ The Unforgettable Season by Gordon H. Fleming, (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981).
- ^ Ironwood Daily Globe March 25, 1927.
- ^ Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune April 05, 1927.
- ^ The Norsk Nightingale by William F. Kirk, (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1905).
- ^ The Critic and Literary World (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1905) p. 384.
- ^ Songs of Sergeant Swanson by William F. Kirk, (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1918).
- ^ Theatre History Studies edited by Rhona Justice-Malloy, (Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 2008). Volume 28, pp. 64 - 111 .
[edit] External links
Articles and photos
- "America's Newest Humorist" in The National Magazine 1904
- Review of "The Norsk Nightingale" in The Critic and Literary World 1905
- Advertisement for "The Norsk Nightingale" in The Publishers Weekly 1905
- Photo of William F. Kirk 1927
- "William F. Kirk" in Volume One Magazine 2010
- William F. Kirk obituary at Baseball Fever 2011
Books by William F. Kirk
- Fleeting Fancies at the Internet Archive.
- The Norsk Nightingale at the Internet Archive.
- Right Off The Bat at the Internet Archive.
- Songs Of Sergeant Swanson at Google Book Search. Click on cover of book to access PDF file.
The Norsk Nightingale
The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings
Sheet music
- "Steve" at Indiana University.
- "Holy Yumpin Yiminy" at Duke University.
- "Hello Wisconsin" at Baylor University.
- "Scandinavia" at Baylor University.
William F. Kirk sheet music and lyrics at the Internet Archive
Scandinavian dialect humor at the Internet Archive
Streaming audio at the Library of Congress
Recordings
- "Cricket and Baseball" and "League of Long Ago" at LibriVox.
- William F. Kirk at the Internet Archive. Audio files and more. REVISED 02/08
- Scandinavian dialect humor at the Internet Archive.
- Harry Stewart (Yogi Yorgesson) at the Internet Archive.
Gus Heege
- Review of "Yon Yonson" in the New York Times (December 29, 1891)
- Review of "Rush City" in the New York Times (April 17, 1894)
- Review of "Rush City" by Willa Cather in the Nebraska State Journal (October 14, 1894)
- "Preparing A Swedish Delicacy" in the New York Times (January 28, 1895)
- "Death Of Gus Heege" in the New York Times ( February 3, 1898)
- Review of "Amalia Mora" in the New York Dramatic Mirror (August 24, 1901)
- "Gus Heege" in Theatre History Studies 2008
- Gus Heege posters at the Library Of Congress
- "Yon Yonson" posters at the Library Of Congress
Performers
