Poetically Put: Don Blanding

Today's poet is none other than Don Blanding. Who? Informally known as the poet-laureate of Hawaii, Don Blanding was a wanderer, a global traveler who fell in love with the Hawaiian islands and wrote much of his extensive poetry about the isles.

Wikipedia, surprise, surprise, had the best biography of him, so I'll point you in that direction:

Donald Benson Blanding (November 7, 1894–June 9, 1957) was an American poet who sentimentalized warm climates and was sometimes described as "poet laureate of Hawaii". He was also known as a journalist, author of prose, illustrator, and speaker.

Blanding was born on November 7, 1894, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma (in the period as a territory prior to that state's creation). He trained between 1913 and 1915 at the Art Institute of Chicago.

For more, check out the informative page at that freewheeling encyclopedia here.

Unfortunately, I left the book of poems I intended to quote from (Vagabond's House) at home. And since...ahem...apparently ol' Blanding hasn't been a-mouldering in the grave very long, his work isn't exactly floating around in the public domain. So, when I do end up quoting it...I'll probably owe someone money.

Sigh.

Such is the way of the world. Until then, read his bio and prepare yourself for a very enjoyable, if sentimental poet who has lots to say about traveling (oooo, a travel connection!).