DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker near Cedar Bayou tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, you want to talk about a man who came to Texas sideways — and I mean that almost literally — let me tell you about John Peter Sjolander, born in 1851, a young Swede who crossed the Atlantic in 1871 with nothing grander in mind than earning a living. He'd had an unusual education, his mother teaching him Swedish, German, and English by making him speak a different one each day of the week.
And his favorite poet? Robert Burns. Not some stiff academician — Burns, the plowman-poet.
That tells you something about the man right there. He studied later at Trinity University in England, then eventually sailed for America. Here's where the story takes a turn: Sjolander didn't exactly arrive through proper channels.
He jumped ship at Galveston Bay — jumped ship — to escape a cruel captain. That's how he landed on Texas soil. Not with paperwork and a handshake, but with salt water and a running start.
He made his way to Cedar Bayou, and something happened to him there. He described it himself — trees almost meeting over the water, vines and flowers everywhere. That place got hold of him.
He settled in, became a farmer, married, reared six children, and built himself a life on that bayou. But he never stopped writing. His verses found their way into periodicals, and editors came calling, the way editors do, wanting weekly assignments, wanting reliable output on a schedule.
Sjolander said no. He felt that kind of arrangement would make his poetry less spontaneous, and a man who jumped ship rather than suffer a bad captain was not about to take orders from a deadline. By 1928, he had enough.
He published his collected poems — Salt of the Earth and Sea — verses on the legendary heroes and mysterious events of Galveston Bay, nature poems like The Bluebonnet. The kind of poetry that comes from a man who actually lived alongside the things he wrote about. Before he died in 1939, the world had given him a title: The Sage of Cedar Bayou, folk poet for a generation of Texans.
Not bad for a young Swede who came ashore running.
What the marker says
(1851-1939) A young Swede who came to America in 1871 to earn a living had, before he died, become famous as "The Sage of Cedar Bayou," folk poet for a generation of Texans. Educated by his mother, Sjolander learned Swedish, German, and English by speaking a day of each in turn. His favorite poet was Robert Burns, whom he adopted as a model. He later studied at Trinity University in England, and eventually sailed for America, jumping ship at Galveston Bay to escape a cruel captain. Sjolander landed at Cedar Bayou, which enchanted him with its "trees almost meeting over the water, vines and flowers everywhere." He settled there and found it an inspiration for his pastoral verses. Although he became a farmer, married, and reared six children, Sjolander continued to write, his work appearing in many periodicals. Editors urged him to compose weekly assignments, but he refused for he felt it would make his poetry less spontaneous. In 1928, he published his collected poems, "Salt of the Earth and Sea," which contained verses on legendary heroes and mysterious events of Galveston Bay, as well as nature poems such as "The Bluebonnet." For his many lyrics and ballads, Sjolander has become one of the memorable poets of Texas. (1968)