George Marion McClellan

George Marion McClellan was an American poet, educator, and minister of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His lyric verse explored nature, love, and the African American experience, and he is known for collections such as Songs of a Southerner and The Path of Dreams. Biography ↓More ↓

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The Hills of Sewanee

Sewanee Hills of dear delight, Prompting my dreams that used to be, I know you are waiting me still tonight By the Unika Range of Tennessee. The blinking stars in endless space, The broad moonlight and silvery gleams, Tonight caress your wind-swept face, And fold you in a thousand dreams. Your far outlines, less seen than felt, Which wind with hill propensities. In moonlight dreams I see you melt Away in vague immensities. And, far away, I still can feel Your mystery that ever speaks Of vanished things, as shadows steal Across your breast and rugged peaks.

George Marion McClellan

Heart Yearnings

Oh ! for the welcome breath of country air, With Summer skies and flowers, To shout and feel once more the halcyon Of gayer boyhood hours. I think the sight of fields and shady lanes Would ease my heart of pains. To cool once more my thirst, where bubbled up The waters of a spring, Where I have seen the golden daffodils And lillies flourishing. My fevered heart would more than half forget Its sighs, and vain regret. Far, far away, from early scenes am I ; And, too, my youth has fled; For me a stranger's land, a stranger's sky. That arches overhead.

Biography

George Marion McClellan was an American poet, educator, and minister who lived from 1860 to 1934. He was associated with the early African American literary tradition and published poetry alongside contemporaries like Paul Laurence Dunbar. His verse often employed traditional forms such as the sonnet and ballad, and he wrote in both standard English and dialect. McClellan's poetry frequently addressed themes of nature, romantic love, faith, and racial identity, reflecting the complexities of Black life in the post-Reconstruction South. His first collection, Songs of a Southerner (1896), included poems that gained attention for their craftsmanship and emotional depth. A second collection, The Path of Dreams (1916), further established his reputation as a significant voice in early twentieth-century American poetry. In addition to writing, McClellan worked as a teacher and school administrator, and he later became a Congregational minister. His work contributed to the development of African American poetry by demonstrating formal mastery and sincere engagement with both personal and communal concerns.

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