Strangers to Us All Lawyers and Poetry

Clement Wood

(1888-1950)
Alabama & New York

Lawyer, magistrate, teacher, lecturer, concert baritone

Clement Wood was born September 1,1888 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The various lines of his ancestry—Wood, Jones, Richardson, Leftwich—extend back to 17th century Virginia families. A grandfather and an aunt were unofficial poet laureates of Alabama. He was educated at the University of Alabama, graduating in 1909 and received his law degree from Yale in 1911. Wood practiced law in Birmingham, Alabama in 1911 and 1912 with his father and was named assistant city attorney in 1912 and chief presiding magistrate of the Central Recorder's Court in 1913 (a position formerly held by Justice Hugo Black). Wood took leave of Alabama for New York City (buying a one-way ticket) where he settled in Greenwich Village and took up literature. To support himself, Wood took on various odd jobs (waiter, staff of a vice commission, secretary to Upton Sinclair) and became a school teacher at various private schools. He eventually became dean of the Barnard School for Boys, but moved several times to teach and take administrative positions at other schools. In 1939-40 Wood was an instructor in poetry at New York University, Washington Square Writing Center. During his New York years Wood became a prolific writer, including novels and poetry. He died on October 26, 1950.

[Sources: Obituary, New York Times, October 27, 1950, p. 29; dust jacket, Clement Wood, The Glory Road and the Eagle Sonnets (1950); Stanley J. Kunitz & Howard Haycraft (eds.), Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature 1544-1546 (New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1942)]

Poetry

Clement Wood, Glad of Earth (New York: Laurence J. Gomme, 1917) [online text] [online text]

____________, Earth Turns South (New York: Dutton, 1919) [online text]

____________, Jehovah (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1920)

____________, The Laughter (New York: Published by Bernhardt Wall, 1922)

____________, The Tide Comes In (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1923)

____________, The Eagle Flies: Sonnets (Chicago, Illinois: The Bookfellows/ The Torch Press, 1925)

____________, The Greenwich Village Blues (New York: Henry Harrison, 1926)

____________, Lays for the Laity (Privately printed: 1937)

____________, Ripe Olives and Other Verses ([Delanson, N.Y.]: [s.n.]), 1941)

____________, The Eagle Sonnets (New York: Horizon House, 1942)

____________, Doors to a Narrow House (New York: Hobson Book Press, 1946)

____________, Efil a masque (Delanson, New York: Bozenkill Press, 1942)

____________, The Ballad of Jonathan Swain and Other Poems and Ballads (Delanson, New York: Bozenkill Press, 1947)

____________, Tombstone, the "town too tough to die" and other poems of the Arizona (Delanson, New York: Bozenkill Press, 1947)

____________, The Ballad of Sally Skull and Other Poems (Delanson, New York: Bozenkill Press, 1948)

____________, The Glory Road and The Eagle Sonnets (New York: Greenberg, 1950)

Poetry Anthologies

Clement Wood, "Autobiography," "Sappho," and "The Egal Flies" (selections) in William Stanley Braithwaite (ed.), Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1926 and Yearbook of American Poetry 487-493 (Boston: B.J. Brimmer Company, 1926)

Autobiography

Clement Wood, The Glory Road: An Autobiography (New York: Poet's Press, 1936)

Writings

Clement Wood, Mountain, a Novel (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1920) [online text] [online text]

____________, Hunters of the Heaven: The American Soul as Revealed By Its Poetry (New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1920)(New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1929)

____________, Nigger: a Novel (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1922) [online text]

____________, The Stone Age (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1923)(Little Blue Book # 481)

____________ (ed.), Negro Songs, An Anthology (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)

____________, Poetry of the Southern States (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)( Little Blue Book Series, Number 719)

____________, Hints on Writing Poetry (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 514)

____________, Botany For Beginners (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 710)

____________, An Introduction to Philology (The Science of Language)(Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 708)

____________, The Romance of Words: An Introduction to Philology (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, l924)(Little Blue Book # 708)

____________, Julius Caesar; Who He Was and What He Accomplished: (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 128)

____________, Modern Sexual Morality (Girard, Kansas: Halderman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 717)

____________, How to Love (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 98)

____________, The Evolution of Sex (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 172)

____________, Short History of the Jews (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 627)

____________, Cromwell and His Times (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 147)

____________, The Making of the Old Testament (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 628)

____________, Byron and the Women He Loved (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 713)

____________, Emerson: The Man and His Works (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 975)

____________, Great Women of Antiquity (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Books # 718)

____________, Cromwell and His Times (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1924)(Little Blue Book # 147)

____________, How to Psycho-Analyze Your Neighbors (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book # 1344)

____________, A Psycho-analysis of Jesus (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book #1071)

____________, Great Women of Antiquity (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book # 718)

____________, Pope Alexander VI & His Loves (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book # 977)

____________, The Best American Jokes (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book # 1014)

____________, A Book of Comic Dialect Poems (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book # 1015)

____________, History of Rome (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, [n.d.])(Little Blue Book # 126)

____________, Casanova:History's Greatest Lover (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1925)(Little Blue Book # 976)

____________, Cleopatra and Her Loves (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Juius, 1925)(Little Blue Book # 975)

____________, The Truth about Christian Science (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1925)(Little Blue Book # 983)

____________, Folly (Boston: Small, Maynard and Company, 1925)

____________, Poets of America (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1926)

____________, A Dictionary of American Slang (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1926)(Little Blue Book # 56)

____________, How To Win a Mate (The Art of Courtship)(Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1926)(Little Blue Book # 988)

___________, Bluebeard and His Eight Wives (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1926)(Little Blue Book # 1019)

____________, The Truth about William Jennings Bryan (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1926)(Little Blue Book # 1072)

____________, Sexual Crimes and American Law Girard ( Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1926)(Little Blue Book # 1148)

____________, How to Talk Debate (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1926)(Little Blue Book # 986)

____________, The Substance of History of European Morals (Vanguard,1926)

____________, Amy Lowell (New York: Harold Vinal, 1926)

____________, The Truth about New York's White Light Region (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, 1926)

____________, A Book of Mathematical Oddities (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, 1927)(Little Blue Book # 1210)

____________, The White Peacock (Boston: Bruce Humphries, Inc.,1928)

____________, The Shadow from the Bogue (New York: Dutton, 1928)

Clement Wood & McAlister Coleman, Don't Tread on Me: A Study of Aggressive Legal Tactics for Labor (New York: Vanguard Press, 1928)(in collaboration with Arthur Garfield Hays)

Clement Wood, Outline of Man's Knowledge: The Story of History, Science, Literature, Art, Religion, Philosophy (New York: Lewis Copeland Co., 1929)(New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930)

____________, King Henry the Rake: Henry VIII and His Women (Boston: Statford Co., 1929)

____________, Why I Believe in Trial Marriage (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius, l929)

____________, Hunters of Heaven: The American Soul as Revealed By Its Poetry (New York; Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1929)

____________, Bernarr Macfadden: A Study in (Business) Success in Physical Culture (New York: Lewis Copeland, l929)

____________, Bernar Macfadden Lewis (New York: Copeland Co., 1929)

____________, Torquemada, Rack of the Spanish Inquisition ( New York: Publishers Typographic Service, 1930)

____________, Flesh & Other Stories (New York: Privately Printed, 1929)(New York: Panurge, 1931)(New York: Woodford Press, 1949)

____________, The Craft of Poetry (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1929)

____________, The Outline of Man's Knowledge (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930)

____________, Sex in Psychoanalysis (Haldeman-Julius, [ca.] 1930)(Little Blue Book No. 800)

____________, The Tabloid Murders; Mystery Story in Startling New Technique (New York: Macaulay Co., 1930)

____________, Sociology of Lester F. Ward (New York: Vanguard, 1930)

____________, Dreams: Their Meaning and Practical Application (Cleveland: World Syndicate, 1931)(Your Dreams and What They Mean, World Publishing, Tower Book ed., 1941)

____________, The Woman Who Was Pope: A Biography of Pope Joan, 853-855 A.D. (New York: William Fargo, 1931)

____________, The Man Who Killed Kitchener; the Life of Fritz Joubert Duquesne (New York: W. Faro, Inc., 1932)

____________, Herbert Clark Hoover: An American Tragedy (New York. Michael Swain, 1932)(New York: William Faro, Inc., 1932)

____________, Warren Gamaliel Harding (An American Comedy)(New York: William Faro, Inc., 1932)

____________, Loose Shoulder Straps (New York: W. Faro, 1932)

____________, What It Takes: A Study in Success (New York: Liberty Publishing Corporation, 1934)

____________, Deep River (1934)(Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1972)

____________, A Popular History of the World (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1935)

____________, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary and Poet's Craft Book (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1936)(New York: Halcyon House, 1936)(New York: Halcyon House, 1948)(New York: Doubleday, rev., 1991)

[Wood's Unabridged Rhyming Dictionary (Cleveland: World Publishing Company, 1943)]

____________, A Complete History of The United States (Cleveland: World Syndicate Pub., 1936)

____________, The Life of a Man: A Biography of John R. Brinkley (Kansas City, [Kan.]: Goshorn Publishing, 1937)

Gloria Goddard & Clement Wood, Games for Two (Hillman-Curl, Inc., 1937)

Gloria Goddard & Clement Wood, Let's Have a Good Time Tonight: An Omnibus of Party Games (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1938)

Clement Wood, Let's Play "The Game": The Book of Charades (Greenberg Publisher,1939)

____________, Tom Sawyer Grows Up (Cleveland: World Syndicate Publishing, 1939)(London: Overseas Enterprises, 1940)

____________, Poet's Handbook (Cleveland: World Publishing, 1940)

____________, The Complete Book of Games (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1940)

____________, More Power to Your Words (New York: Prentice Hall, 1940)

____________, Poet's Handbook (New York: Greenberg Publisher, 1940)(New York: Garden City Books, 1943)

____________, More Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1940)

____________, The Sensualist: A Novel of the Life and Times of Oscar Wilde (New York: J. Swift, 1942)

____________, Your Dreams and What They Mean (Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1943)

____________, USW, the United States of the World: Global Peace the American Way (Mays Landing, New Jersey: Sunshine Book Co., 1943)

____________, Death on the Pampas (New York: Mystery House, 1944)

____________, Death in Ankara: A story of modern espionage (New York: Mystery House, 1944)

____________, The Corpse In The Guest Room (New York: Parsee Publications, 1945)(New York: Arcadia House, 1945)

____________, Emily Dickinson, the Volcanic Heart ([S.l.: s.n.], 1945)

____________, The Art and Technique of Writing Poetry (Greenberg, 1945)

____________, Poets' Handbook (Cleveland: World Publishing, 1946)

____________, More Power to Your Words (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1946)

____________, Double Jeopardy (New York: Arcadia House, 1947)

____________, Complete Book of Scansion for Writers of Poetry, Verse, Song Lyrics, and Prose (New York: Valiant House Publishers, 1948)

Clement Wood & Gloria Goddard, Four Seek Love (New York: Woodford Press, rev. ed., 1949)

Clement Wood, Other Men's Wives (New York: Balzac Press, 1949)

____________, Fair Game (New York: Beacon, 1949)

____________, Desire and Other Stories (New York: Woodford Press, 1950)(New York: Berkley Pub. Corp., 1950)

____________, Artists' Model (New York: Woodford Press, 1951)

____________, Strange Fires (New York: Woodford Press, 1951)

____________, Studio Affair (New York: Beacon, 1951)