Jones Very (1813–1880) was born in Salem, Massachusetts to sea captain Jones Very and a mother, Lydia Very, who was outspoken in her atheistic beliefs. As a child, the younger Very was quiet, studious, and solitary. As a teenager, he worked at an auction house and then at a private school, where the principal introduced him to Shakespeare and the English and German Romantics. Shakespeare in particular remained an important inspiration to Very.
In 1833, Very entered Harvard, where he excelled in all his scholarly roles—becoming deeply involved in student life, winning awards for his writing, and graduating at the top of his class. In his final year in college, he experienced a profound religious conversion, and he would spend the next few years working to banish his will in order to become a vessel for God. During this time, he also became acquainted with the Transcendentalists, particularly Elizabeth Peabody and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson took a liking to Very and had high hopes for him, but he was alarmed by Very’s extreme quietness in groups.
Very’s behavior grew stranger and stranger. He had accepted a position at Harvard as a Greek tutor, and by 1838 he began to alarm those around him with his extreme religious enthusiasm and the high moral tone of his teaching. During this time he wrote many poems, which he considered to have been dictated directly by God. He soon began to speak publicly on his conviction that God was speaking through him. Meanwhile, his speeches began to take an apocalyptic bent, and he began publicly challenging preachers on their views. All of this led many of Very’s friends to conclude that he was insane—with the notable exception of Emerson and several other Transcendentalists, who were delighted by Very’s fiery behavior.
Very’s only book, Essays and Poems, was edited by Emerson and released in 1839 to mixed reviews. Soon afterward, Very faded from the literary and academic scenes, gradually losing touch with his friends. Although he filled a few temporary ministerial roles during the last 40 years of his life, these years were spent mostly in quiet seclusion. He wrote no more poetry.
Jones Very poems:
Beauty
The Columbine
Eheu! Fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, Labuntur Anni.
In Him We Live
Lines
Love
Memory
Nature
The New Birth
The Poor
The Robin
The Son
The Stranger’s Gift
To the Canary Bird
To the Fossil Flower
To the Humming-Bird
To the Painted Columbine
The Tree
Thy Beauty Fades
The Wind-Flower