Robinson, Edwin Meade, 1878-1946

Cleveland, Ohio poet, newspaper columnist, novelist, and lecturer who conducted Cleveland's most prestigious contributors' column, "Philosopher of Folly", in the pages of the Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Leader. "Ted" Robinson came to Cleveland in 1905 and began a column at the Cleveland Leader called "Just by the Way." He moved to the Plain Dealer in 1910, and eventually became an associate editor and the literary editor after 1922. Robinson wrote a new poem nearly every day for his column, and eventually more than 600 amateur as well as professional writers contributed to the column. Robinson published 2 volumes of verse, Mere Melodies (1918) and Pipings and Pannings (1921), and the novel Enter Jerry (1922). Throughout the 1930s, he lectured on language and philology at Cleveland College. Robinson served as president of the City Club and the American Press Humorists, and was a vice-president of the Cleveland Play House and a member of the Rowfant Club.

Edwin Meade (Ted) Robinson (1878-1946), poet, newspaper columnist, novelist, and lecturer, conducted the "Philosopher of Folly" column at the Cleveland Leader and Plain Dealer from 1904 until his death. An American representative of the C.S. Calverley/Owen Seaman school of poetry, Robinson's output of verse was astonishing, authoring a poem for print nearly every day for over forty years (approx. 10,000 poems). A graduate of Wabash College, Robinson wrote for the Indianapolis Sentinel and Journal before coming to Cleveland, Ohio. Robinson's column was characterized by sentimental verse, humor, wit, and skepticism and it included the comments of his readers which he organized into a "Contributors Club" that totaled over 600 members.

Robinson's volumes of verse include: The First Born, Mere Melodies (1918), Piping and Panning (1920), The Curious History of a Nursery Rhyme (1932), and Life, Love and the Weather (1946). Robinson also produced translations of the poet Horace, a series of poems under the title Old Testament Jazz, and two autobiographical novels: Enter Jerry (1921) and its unpublished sequel Wyandot. Robinson was president of the American Press Humorists in 1914, president of the City Club of Cleveland in 1932, and a member and frequent lecturer before the Rowfant Club of Cleveland from 1927-1945. Robinson also taught at Cleveland College from 1929-1943 on the subject of the origin and pronunciation of the English language. Robinson was descendent from the Pilgrim pastor, John Robinson. (For additional biographical information on Edwin Meade Robinson, see MS 3571 Rowfant Club Records, Container 17, Folder 24).

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