2. Poet Introduction

Coates Kinney was born on \(24th\) November \(1826\), in Keuka Lake, in a town called Yates, New York. When he was \(13\), his family moved to Ohio, where he attended a boarding school called Springboro Academy. He also enrolled in a College in the same town and took up Language studies as his course. But due to the monotonous nature of the course, he discontinued it after a year.

 

He realised that his passion lay in becoming a lawyer and took it seriously. He wrote various papers in the bar council and also taught at various schools in Ohio as part-time. He had also worked in a sawmill and wool factory earlier. But he never remained stuck at anything as he saw better things for himself and moved on to greater heights. He became one of the best lawyers in the states of Ohio and Cincinnati. For about two years, he was involved in Politics, as he was made a Senator. He tried his hands at nearly all professions. He was a journalist for a few years and wrote famous articles. His love for his Nation is evident as he served the army during the American Civil war, and was promoted as Lieutenant Colonel.

 

All through shuffling between these jobs, he found his true passion and in-born talent for writing. He wrote poems that touched the soul. He wrote about simple things in life. He is famous for publishing two poetry collections, namely "Keuka and other Poems", which was written in \(1855\), and "Lyrics of the Ideal and the Real" , published in \(1888\). But the one poem that established him as a famous poet globally is "Rain on the Roof", which was published in \(1849\). It was given music and released as an album.