Barney, Danford, 1892-1952

In the 1920s Danford Barney was associated with a group of young Yale poets that included Stephen Vincent Benét, Archibald MacLeish, Phelps Putnam, and John Farrar. Early in the decade, Barney published a literary magazine, Parabalou, containing original poems by members of the group. Between 1916, when he graduated from Yale, and 1945, he published six volumes of his own poetry, including Dust of Stars (1916), Chords of Albireo (1920), In the Comet's Hair (1921), Sardonyx (1926), Selected Poems Old and New (1942), and Songs Not for Brides (1945).

In the First World War, Barney served with the Yale Mobile Hospital Unit, which was attached to American armies in the battles of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. From 1922 until 1930 Barney maintained a photographic studio in New York, where he made a series of portraits of authors and artists. He was twice married, first to Gertrude Wells, with whom he had three daughters, and later to Dorothy Bartlett.

Biographical information on Danford Barney taken from "DANFORD BARNEY JR., I CONNECTICUT POET, 59I." New York Times (1923-Current file) 22 May 1952, ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2007), ProQuest. Web. (accessed 18 May 2011). Additional biographical information on Barney can be found in the essay by Francis Hyde Bang, "Danford Barney: Poet," The Yale University Library Gazette 27, 4 (April 1953): 131-148.

From the guide to the Danford Barney papers, 1877-1953, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)