No other poem published in America in many years has so stirred the
emotions of the people, commanded so much attention and created so
much comment as “The Man with the Hoe.” It and Kipling’s “Recessional”
are regarded as the great poems of the closing years of the century.
The critics have hailed “The Man with the Hoe” as a prominent piece
of political literature, because of the breadth and depth and vital
importance of the theme, and the fervor and noble dignity of its
treatment. Yet the poem has been misinterpreted and assailed. It has
been said to be an affront to manual labor. The only answer Mr. Markham
has thus far made to his critics he dictated to the writer. He also
spoke, for the first time for publication, of his mother, and her
all-pervading influence on his early life, of his youthful days, and of
his own experience with the hoe.
Mr. Markham’s poetry proves that his paramount quality is his deep
sympathy with suffering. The most marked thing in his personality is
his humanity, which effuses, so to speak, in a spontaneous geniality
and unaffected interest in others. He laughs easily and tells a story
extremely well.