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William Cullen Bryant was a young lawyer when his poem Thanatopsis first appeared in the North American Review in 1817. Inspired by the romantic lyrics of William Wordsworth, Bryant found his subject in the American landscape, especially that of New England. By 1825, critics on both sides of the Atlantic called him "The finest poet in the United States". But reputation alone could not support his family, and in 1826 Bryant joined the New York Evening Post. He was the editor-in-chief and part owner of the newspaper for almost fifty years. |