Poet. Born in Alabama, S. Newton Berryhill moved to Mississippi as an infant. Complications from polio left him wheelchair-bound by the time he was a teenager. He turned to books, taught himself several languages, and studied the law and letters. More importantly, as Berryhill himself wrote, "the green woods were my campus." In 1878, he collected 30 years worth of writings and published "Backwoods Poems." The book became surprisingly popular and earned him the nickname "the backwoods poet." His poetry focused on nature as well as on the post-Civil War vision of the Old South. Much of his verses are openly hostile towards the North — including northern poets, some of whom he singled out by name. In 1881, he gave a Memorial Day speech at Union Cemetery, saying, "Nothing conduces more to the patriotic spirit of a people than a reverence for the memory of their dead." Berryhill also worked as a teacher, editor, and lawyer. He also wrote prose, including political commentaries, and left behind an unpublished novel titled "Talla Homa's Story." His poems were frequently collected, particularly in anthologies of Southern writers.
Poet. Born in Alabama, S. Newton Berryhill moved to Mississippi as an infant. Complications from polio left him wheelchair-bound by the time he was a teenager. He turned to books, taught himself several languages, and studied the law and letters. More importantly, as Berryhill himself wrote, "the green woods were my campus." In 1878, he collected 30 years worth of writings and published "Backwoods Poems." The book became surprisingly popular and earned him the nickname "the backwoods poet." His poetry focused on nature as well as on the post-Civil War vision of the Old South. Much of his verses are openly hostile towards the North — including northern poets, some of whom he singled out by name. In 1881, he gave a Memorial Day speech at Union Cemetery, saying, "Nothing conduces more to the patriotic spirit of a people than a reverence for the memory of their dead." Berryhill also worked as a teacher, editor, and lawyer. He also wrote prose, including political commentaries, and left behind an unpublished novel titled "Talla Homa's Story." His poems were frequently collected, particularly in anthologies of Southern writers.
Bio by: NatalieMaynor
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