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Hearst Center for the Arts' Curator/Registrar Emily Drennan discusses items in the permanent collection, including a recently conserved piece by Cedar Falls watercolorist Marjorie Nuhn.
CEDAR FALLS — Jeffry Sears first heard James Hearst’s name at Harvard University in the 1970s. A classmate asked Sears what he knew about the American poet and philosopher from Iowa who was a friend of Robert Frost and was sometimes called the “Robert Frost of the Midwest.”
“I grew up literally six miles from Hearst’s home in Cedar Falls, but I’d never heard of him or knew anything about him, and I’d never read any of his poetry,” Sears recalled.
Today, Sears is recognized as Hearst’s biographer.
Poet-farmer James Hearst and his biographer Jeffry Sears, who grew up in Waterloo, conducted at least 10 interviews at Hearst's Cedar Falls home. Sears recently published 'The Worth of the Harvest: James Hearst and His Poetry.'
On Sunday, Sears will present a reading from his new book, “The Worth of the Harvest: James Hearst and His Poetry,” at the Hearst Center for the Arts, 304 W. Seerley Blvd.
It is the official release of the book by Final Thursday Press on what would have been Hearst’s 122nd birthday. Birthday cake will be served for the occasion.
Sears’ literary biography is the first book-length work about the Cedar Falls farmer-poet and University of Northern Iowa professor, who died in 1983. Hearst held classes in the basement of his home at 304 W. Seerley Blvd., and later bequeathed the home to the city of Cedar Falls to house an art center.
Sears, now retired and living in Wisconsin, was on the English faculty at Iowa State University in Ames, when “I got the idea that I would like to meet James Hearst and do some research and interviews and publish some scholarly articles on his work.”
Hearst agreed. “He was very gracious and said ‘Come over to my house and meet me and my wife, Meryl.’ I probably had 10 different interviews with him and Meryl and ended up publishing a couple of articles about him and his poetry.”
Sears expects a flood of memories to return on Sunday.
“Beyond his writing, Hearst’s life story itself is very compelling,” he said. “I wanted to make it a literary biography so I could learn about his life from his poetry and vice versa, and his growth as a writer.”
Hearst was swimming in the Cedar River on Memorial Day 1919, dove off the dock and hit the shallow bottom with his head, fracturing his spine. He was left with significant paralysis. He found ways to continue working on the family farm during his lengthy recovery, and later turned to writing as his condition worsened.
Poet-farmer and philosopher James Hearst of Cedar Falls with his biographer Jeffry Sears, author of the newly published 'The Worth of the Harvest: James Hearst and His Poetry.' Sears grew up in Waterloo.
Sears completed his biography in 1983, the year Hearst died. ISU Press had just published Hearst’s autobiography and while they praised Sears’ book, decided there wasn’t a need to publish a second book about the poet.
While Hearst’s autobiography skims over his development and career as a writer, Sears takes an objective look at both Hearst’s life and career and turns a critical eye on his poetry.
“If Hearst had never written a single poem, his personal challenges and how he dealt with life after his accident, I find it inspiring. I told him that at the time, when we were doing the interviews, and Hearst was ‘Aw, shucks,’ typical Midwesterner. He had no ego.”
Hearst published over a dozen collections and more than 600 individual poets, many inspired from his work on the farm. In “The Worth of the Harvest,” Sears interweaves biographical information with insights from Hearst’s verse and provides context for appreciating Hearst’s poetry.
“Because Hearst was friends with Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg and others, people sometimes assume that his poetry is an imitation of Frost. But Hearst was an original, and the poetry is totally original,” Sears said.
He was impressed with the variety of styles the poet mastered, from his traditional early work to modern verse later in his career, without losing his singular voice.
An independent scholar, critic and writer, Sears has published articles on Midwestern literature and poems. He holds degrees in American literature from Harvard and the University of Chicago and has served on the faculty of several Midwestern colleges, in addition to ISU.
The Hearst manuscript made the move with Sears on each occasion. He sent it out to publishing houses periodically, even after changing careers to become an accountant.
Last Christmas he sent a copy to Scott Cawelti, retired UNI professor, Hearst colleague and editor of “The Complete Poetry of James Hearst” and the album, “Landscape Iowa: 16 Hearst Poems Sung.” Impressed, Cawelti forwarded the manuscript to Jim O’Loughlin, founder of Final Thursday Press.
Cawelti calls Sears’ book “insightful and deeply engaging for anyone acquainted with Hearst’s life and work. I learned much, especially about Hearst’s friendships with Robert Frost, Ferner Nuhn and Ruth Suckow.”
Sears laughing describes himself as “an overnight success.”
“So after 40 years, I make a joke about it, but I knew it was good and it would be interesting whether you’d heard of James Hearst or not. Even if you don’t like poetry, if you crack it open and give it a read, you’ll find he’s worth the attention,” Sears added.
Copies of The Worth of the Harvest are available at the Hearst Center for the Arts, the UNI Bookstore and the Ragged Edge Art Bar & Gallery. The book can also be purchased online directly from Final Thursday Press, finalthursdaypress.com or both in paperback and electronic formats at Amazon.com.
Waterloo Center for the Arts Curator Chawne Paige holds “Running Jaguar and the Mystery of the Cob," created by Jacobo and Maria Angeles from Oaxaca, Mexico, a piece in the center's permanent collection.
Sculptures in storage at the Waterloo Center for the Arts' permanent collection.
Marvin Cone’s “I Have Loved the Unloved" is on display at the Waterloo Center for the Art's gallery.
Waterloo Center for the Arts Curator Chawne Paige and Registrar Elizabeth Andrews unpack a new addition to the center's collection.
Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz, collections manager at the Cedar Falls Historical Society, pulls a coat made from stallion hide out of its storage box on April 21 in Cedar Falls.
The coat, which belonged to Mathias Sadler, a German who arrived in the United States in 1895, is part of the permanent collection at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
A woman’s three-speed bicycle made by John Deere that dates from 1972-1978, was recently donated to the historical society.
A storage area in the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
A garment storage area in the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art Director Darrell Taylor removes a Robert Rauschenberg lithograph, titled "Post Rally, edition 36/42," from an archive shelf on April 8 in Cedar Falls.
University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art Director Darrell Taylor uncovers a piece from the gallery's collection on April 8 in Cedar Falls.
University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art Director Darrell Taylor talks about new additions to the gallery's collection on April 8 in Cedar Falls.
Rembrandt etching at the UNI Gallery of Art.
John Dabour pastel on canvas on board-UNI Gallery of Art. Photographed Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, in Cedar Falls, IA.
Gregorian chant vellum and ink-UNI Gallery of Art. Photographed Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, in Cedar Falls, IA.
George Grosz watercolor and ink on paper-UNI Gallery of Art in Cedar Falls.
Nicholas Erickson, Grout Museum of History and Science registrar, lifts a doll out of a toy box belonging to Diane Broessel, who grew up in Waterloo in the 1940s.
Nicholas Erickson, Grout Museum of History and Science registrar, handles a rifle from the museum's collection.
Nicholas Erickson, Grout Museum of History and Science registrar, looks over one of the museum's storage rooms.
One of the storage rooms at the Grout Museum of History and Science.
Nicholas Erickson, Grout Museum of History and Science registrar, places a boxed quilt back onto a shelf in one of the museum's storage rooms.
Emily Drennen, the curator/registrar for the Hearst Center of the Arts, holds up a water color painting by Marjorie Nuhn titled "Atalya Hill, Santa Fe," a piece in the center's permanent collection.
A storage room in the Hearst Center of the Arts holds many pieces of the center's permanent collection.
Emily Drennen, the curator/registrar for the Hearst Center of the Arts, looks over Ruth Hardinger’s “Tres Tiempos,” a new acquisition for the center's permanent collection.
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Poet-farmer James Hearst and his biographer Jeffry Sears, who grew up in Waterloo, conducted at least 10 interviews at Hearst's Cedar Falls home. Sears recently published 'The Worth of the Harvest: James Hearst and His Poetry.'
Poet-farmer and philosopher James Hearst of Cedar Falls with his biographer Jeffry Sears, author of the newly published 'The Worth of the Harvest: James Hearst and His Poetry.' Sears grew up in Waterloo.
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