The biography traces Lanier’s early years in Georgia, his experiences as a soldier during the American Civil War, and his subsequent battle with tuberculosis, which greatly impacted his health and life. Despite these challenges, Lanier’s love for music—he was an accomplished flutist—and literature guided his career. Mims explores Lanier's teaching positions, his performances as a musician, and his writings, particularly his poetry, which often reflected themes of nature, spirituality, and ...

Sidney Lanier (1842-1881) was an American musician and poet. He attended Oglethorpe University near Milledgeville, Georgia, graduating first in his class shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War. Shortly after the war, he taught school briefly, and then moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he worked as a desk clerk at The Exchange Hotel and also performed as a musician; he was the regular organist at The First Presbyterian Church in nearby Prattville. He wrote his only novel, T...