Nellie Burget Miller | |
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Nellie Burget Miller (photo from Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum) | |
Born | Nellie Burget June 6, 1875 Fayette, Iowa, U.S. |
Died | June 4, 1952 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
Alma mater | Upper Iowa University |
Occupations |
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Known for |
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Spouse | Lucas A. Miller |
Children | 3 |
Nellie Burget Miller (1875-1952) was an American writer, clubwoman, and lecturer. She served as Poet Laureate of Colorado (1923-1952) and as President of the Colorado State Federation of Women's Clubs. She published several books of poetry, the best known being The Flame of God and Earthen Bowls; The Living Drama, is an exhaustive and creditable study of the history of drama.
Early life and education
Nellie Burget was born in Fayette, Iowa, June 6, 1875. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Burget.
She received her education at Upper Iowa University (B.S.).
In 1925, she received an honorary Master of Letters degree from the University of Colorado, and twenty years later, an honorary Doctor of Letters from Upper Iowa University.
Career
Miller was the author of five books and two plays, including Earthen Bowls (collected verse), The Flame of God, and The Land Where the Good Dreams Grow, a dance fantasy (juvenile play). The Living Drama (New York, Century Co., 1925) was a popular, comprehensive survey of the history of the drama from the beginnings to the present era with emphasis upon the 19th century and early 20th century. It contained a range of reading lists, questions and other guides to study, and suggestions for programs.
She contributed regularly for five years to The New Age magazine. She had a page each week in the Woman's National News and two pages each issue in the Children's Hour, (Boston). She had poems in Midland, Lyric West, American Poetry, Pagan, Penwoman, Suburban Life, and other magazines and newspapers.
In 1923, Miller was appointed Poet Laureate of Colorado by Governor William Ellery Sweet, a position held for life.
Miller held various local positions and was connected with civic affairs for many years. She organized the state branch of National League of American Pen Women, and became its honorary president. She served as president, Colorado State Federation of Women's Clubs; chair of Literature, General Federation of Women's Clubs, 1922-26; chair of Fine Arts, General Federation of Women's Clubs (1926-28); and served as speaker at state and national conventions. She was also a member of The Drama League, Poetry Society of Great Britain, and the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She elected to the elected to membership in the Poetry Society of America. The Poetry Fellowship of Colorado Springs was organized by Miller.
Personal life
She married Dr. Lucas A. Miller. Their children were, Dorothy, Arnold, and Imogene.
She made her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Nellie Burget Miller died at St. Anthony's Hospital, in Denver, Colorado, on June 4, 1952.
Awards and honors
In 1922, Miller won first prize for a children's play, offered by the Pasadena Community Players. The play was published in Theater Magazine, and as a result, was being put on in five different states and Cuba, in the spring of 1923.
Selected works
Source:
- The Land where the Good Dreams Grow: A Dance Fantasy in Two Parts (1921)
- The Flame of God (1924)
- In Earthen Bowls (1924)
- The Living Drama: Historical Development and Modern Movements Visualized, a Drama of the Drama (1924)
- The Blue Moon (play, 1926)
- Pictures from the Plains and Other Poems, Collected Verse (1936)
- The Sun Drops Red (1947)
- In the Tents of the Shepherd Prince (1950)
References
- Smith, Lewis Worthington; Weitz, Alice Carey (1929). Women's Poetry To-day: Chosen and Edited, with an Introduction. G. Sully. p. 141. Retrieved 15 January 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "NelIie Miller, Poet Laureate of State, Dies After Illness". The Daily Sentinel. 6 June 1952. p. 12. Retrieved 15 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A., eds. (1928). Women of the West: A Series of Biographical Sketches of Living Eminent Women in the Eleven Western States of the United States of America. Los Angeles: Publishers Press. p. 110. Retrieved 15 January 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Nellie Burget Miller Collection". CSPM. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
- "Readings and Texts". English Journal. 14 (10). National Council of Teachers of English: 824. December 1925. Retrieved 16 January 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Among Western Writers". The Lariat. 1 (5): 182. May 1923. Retrieved 15 January 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- 1875 births
- 1952 deaths
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American poets
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century American women writers
- American women non-fiction writers
- American women poets
- American women dramatists and playwrights
- People from Fayette County, Iowa
- People from Colorado Springs, Colorado
- American lecturers
- Upper Iowa University alumni
- Poets Laureate of Colorado
- Clubwomen