The Pen
The first published poems of Oliver Wendell Holmes were printed in the six issues of a monthly Harvard undergraduate student magazine, The collegian, from February through July, 1830. Some of his poems then appeared in Illustrations of the Athenæum gallery of paintings (1830) and The harbinger : a may-gift (1833).
Despite initial success with his research into the contagiousness of puerperal fever and as the recipient of Harvard’s Boylston Prize three times in succession, Holmes could not abandon his literary life, publishing his first volume of poetry in 1836. Poems (1836) represents the first collected edition of his work.
In 1838, Holmes was offered the professorship of anatomy and physiology at Dartmouth and held that position for two years before joining the faculty of Harvard. He was also asked by the New Hampshire Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa to deliver a poem at Dartmouth’s commencement in 1839. Although Holmes never intended the poem for publication—it was not, in fact, printed in its entirety until 1940—a newspaper correspondent at the time said, “The transitions from the grave to gay were very happy, and kept the audience in a state of alternate gravity and mirth. The imagery and descriptive portions of the poem—particularly those relating to rural scenes—were exceedingly beautiful and poetical, and I am confident, if it should be given to the public, that it will be pronounced one of the most beautiful metrical performances that has ever emanated from the pen of an American writer.”
Holmes recited this poem at the anniversary celebration of the Society, held on June 8, 1881, and it was subsequently printed in the Boston medical and surgical journal. The poem contrasts the fortunes of priests, lawyers, and physicians but “I have not hesitated to emphasize those specially belonging to the medical profession. I owe to my friends the physicians so much more than the practice of medicine owes to me that I feel at liberty to praise their calling without reserve, but no more than I think its due.”
This lengthy poem by Holmes—never published during his lifetime—was probably recited at one of the anniversary dinners of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement; Holmes frequently composed and presented his poetic efforts for its celebrations and special occasions. The poem refers to the Society's Pathological Cabinet—its extensive museum collection, which was eventually incorporated with the holdings of the Warren Anatomical Museum.
Philadelphia's analogue to Holmes was neurologist and novelist S. Weir Mitchell (1829-1914). The two were well-acquainted and corresponded from the 1850s until Holmes' death. Weir Mitchell sent this ivory paper knife to Holmes in 1882 and composed the riddling poem inscribed on it. In a letter to Mitchell, Holmes said the knife was "too gorgeous—too grand—for such a humble literary work-bench…. The riddle on it is one of the best in the English language. I doubt if there are ten, or even five—I am not sure there are three which can compare with it in finish and in the perfection of its graceful double-meanings…. If you meant it for me, I can only say I thank you most heartily for a gift of which any author might be proud, engraved with lines which he will never look upon without wishing he had written them."