Philip Morin Freneau (2 January, 1752 – 18 December, 1832) was an American poet, ship captain and newspaper editor.
Works by Philip Morin Freneau*
Fun Facts about Philip Morin Freneau:
- Philip Morin Freneau was the oldest of five children born to a wine merchant from New York City.
- Mr. Freneau was raised in Matawan, NJ and attended the College of New Jersey (today known as Princeton). One of his close friends during his time there was future president James Madison. Their friendship laid the groundwork to future collaboration during, and after the American Revolution.
- Even before graduating college in 1771, Mr. Freenau already wrote History of the Prophet Jonah with his friend and future Supreme Court Justice, Hugh Henry Brackenridge. This was a narrative poem recounting the story of the biblical prophet Jonah.
- Both men also published the satire Father Bombo’s Pilgrimage to Mecca, considered to be the first American novel.
This was while they were juniors in college. - After graduating he tried his hand at teaching, but it wasn’t for him. Then decided to study theology, but that lasted about two years. He did manage to write a bunch of anti-British articles as the Revolutionary War approached, but when the war started in 1776 he found himself in the American West Indies working as a business agent for the next 2 years.
- The experience in the West Indies opened his eyes to the horrors of slavery, which he documented in his poet On Sir Toby, later to become famous as an anti-slavery poem.
- Upon returning to America, Philip Morin Freneau joined the revolution as a privateer. That adventure lasted about six weeks before he was captured and was incarcerated on a British prison ship, that lamost killed him. He later wrote about his time in the work The British Prison Ship, the first of many anti-British and pro-revolution writings.
For these writings, Philip Morin Freneau was often referred to as “The Poet of the Revolution”. - Mr. Freneau married Elanor Forman in 1790, and held a job as the assistant editor of the New York Daily Advertiser, but then his old classmate came a-calling.
- James Madison and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson convinced, and helped, Philip Morin Freneau to move to Philadelphia, PA to edit the The National Gazette, a Democratic-Republican partisan newspaper. The whole purpose of the publication was to tear apart the Federalist Party, mainly criticizing George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.
- To no-one’s suprised, slapping the unslappable (Washington) did not endear Mr. Freneau to the first President. He retired to a quite life in Freehold, NJ where is burried after freezing to death.
- Freneau, New Jersey, a community in Matawan is named after him, as well as a 313 acre nature reserve, Freneau Woods Park, and a statue in town.
Works by Philip Morin Freneau*
Zohar — Man of la Book
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
Sources:
Philip Freneau | Wikipedia
Freneau, Philip, Class of 1771 | Princetoniana Museum
Philip Freneau | The Poetry Foundation
--- Please like and follow ManOfLaBook.com ---
