Terre Haute, Indiana Memories
Max Ehrmann
|
|
|
Max Ehrmann's
Poems
|
Max Ehrmann was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on September 26, 1872. He was a poet and a lawyer. He is widely known for his 1927 poem "Desiderata".
Ehrmann received a degree in English from DePauw University and then studied philosophy and law at Harvard. It was at Harvard, that he published his first book, A Farrago, in 1898. Also while at Harvard he edited "The Rainbow", a national college fraternity magazine.
In 1898 he returned to Terre Haute, Indiana to practice law. He was a deputy state's attorney in Vigo County, Indiana for two years. He then worked for a number of years at his brother's manufacturing company* as an attorney and credit manager. At age 40, Ehrmann left the business to write. At age 54, he wrote Desiderata, which achieved fame only after his death.
During his lifetime, he wrote more than 20 books and many essays and poems that were published separately in newspapers and magazines. He died September 9, 1945.
*As of the 1903 State of Indiana Inspection report, Ehrmann's Mfg. Co. employed 25 males, 139 females, worked 300 days a year, had good sanitation conditions, the workers were not organized and used 20 H.P. of engine power that was run on electricity. They manufactured workingmen's clothing. |
