Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California's First Poet Laureate

In post-Gold Rush San Francisco Ina Coolbrith was known as the pearl of her tribe a tribe that included Bret Harte Mark Twain and John Muir. Jack London and Isadora Duncan considered her their literary godmother and John Greenleaf Whittier knew more of her poems by heart than she did his. Regardless of the acclaim from others Coolbrith met with a series of challenges throughout her life that tested her devotion to her art. In the end she put her full faith in poetry and her story reveals the saving grace of creativity in a womans life. Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of Californias First Poet Laureate is a new biography about a pioneer poet Oaklands first public librarian and the most popular literary ambassador in the early American West. Georges deftly told and deeply researched book follows the struggles and triumphs of Coolbrith from her birth in 1841 as a niece of Mormon founder Joseph Smith to her death in 1928 as Californias most beloved poet. California crowned Ina Coolbrith its first poet laureate in 1915 during San Franciscos Panama-Pacific International Exposition and 2015 marks the centennial of her being named Californias beloved first lady of letters. Aleta George writes about nature and culture in California. Her work has been featured in Smithsonian.com the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. This is her first book. Telling Coolbriths story author Aleta George offers an intriguing glimpse of fin de siècle California and the rousing sometimes rowdy adolescence of our nation. -Gerald Haslam award-winning author and professor emeritus Sonoma State University In a book marked by literary grace and conviction Aleta George presents a nuanced yet compelling portrait of a major California figure. -Malcolm Margolin Heyday Books Coolbriths life is so captivating that it has been waiting not just for another biographer but for a first-rate storyteller. - David Alpaugh Ina Coolbrith Circle