The work of Sidney Lanier (1842-1881), American poet, critic,
and musician, bridged southern romantic literature and 20th-
century realism. He spent his life trying to convince America
that poetry and music are governed by similar artistic laws.
Sidney Lanier was born in Macon, Ga., on Feb. 3, 1842, of
Huguenot and Scottish parentage. As a child, he was devoted to
music, concentrating on study of the flute. After graduating
from Oglethorpe University, he tutored for a year, then joined
the Macon Volunteers in the Civil War. He was captured in 1864.
During his imprisonment he developed tuberculosis. Discharged,
he walked home to Georgia, arriving dangerously ill. The rest of
his life was a losing battle with bad health. From 1866 to 1872
Lanier worked at a variety of jobs: bookkeeper-clerk in
Montgomery, Ala., teacher in rural Alabama schools, lawyer in
his father's Macon office, and novelist (Tiger-lilies, 1867,
deals partly with his war experiences). He and his wife moved to
San Antonio, Tex., in 1873 to reco