Trees and Other Poems (1914) is the second collection of Joyce Kilmer, taking its title from his poem Trees. Published by George H. Doran in New York, it made the short poem one of the best known in the United States.
The collection
The volume gathered a few dozen poems, many on religious and everyday subjects, such as Main Street, The House with Nobody in It and Stars.
Its title poem, Trees, had appeared in the Chicago magazine Poetry in August 1913.
Trees
In twelve lines of rhyming couplets, Trees compares the work of poets with the beauty of a tree, a creation only God can make.
It was set to music by Oscar Rasbach in 1922, in a song recorded by many singers, and was taught in American schools for decades.
Reputation
Critics have often found the poem sentimental, and it has been parodied, notably by Ogden Nash. But its popularity has never faded.
Kilmer dedicated the book to Mrs Henry Mills Alden, the mother of his wife Aline, who was herself a poet.
Anecdotes
A concert song
Oscar Rasbach's setting of Trees (1922) was recorded by many singers and became one of the most popular concert and radio songs in America in the 1920s and 1930s.
Ogden Nash's billboard
Ogden Nash parodied the poem in Song of the Open Road (1932), replacing trees with billboards.
Frequently asked questions
When was Trees and Other Poems published?
In 1914, in New York.
When was Trees first published?
In Poetry magazine, in August 1913.
Who set Trees to music?
Oscar Rasbach, in 1922.