Vincent Godfrey Burns, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1893, was Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1962 until his death in 1979. He was ordained as a minister and later published poems, television scripts, plays, and a novel, often expressing his conservative political and religious convictions. He and his brother Robert collaborated on I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang, which was made into a movie in 1932. Burns's papers include correspondence, poems, manuscripts, galleys, newspaper clippings, and essays documenting his literary production and political concerns.
The Papers of Vincent Godfrey Burns span the years from 1939 to 1970. The collection is comprised of correspondence; poems; essays; issues of the Maryland State Poetry Society magazine, The Rainbow; newspaper clippings concerning Burns; and publicity materials for his speaking engagements and tours.
Burns's writing often expressed his conservative political and religious convictions. He published collections of his poetry, as well as essays, plays, anthologies, and novels, including The Master's Message for the New Day (Association Press, 1926), The Red Harvest, a Cry for Peace (Macmillan, 1930), I'm in Love with Life (Dutton, 1932), America I Love You (New World Books, 1957), Flame Against the Night (New World Books, 1959), An American Poet Speaks (New World Books, 1960), Memories and Melodies of Maryland (New World Books, 1964), Maryland's Revolutionary Hero (New World Books, 1965), The Four Tests of a Loyal American (Patriotic Women's Clubs of America, 1966), Ballads of the Free State Bard (New World Books, 1967), Heart on Fire (New World Books, 1969), World on Fire (New World Books, 1969), Red Fuse on a World Bomb (New World Books, 1969), The Sunny Side of Life (New World Books, 1970), Poetry is Fun (New World Books, 1971), and The Story of Old Glory (New World Books, 1972). His bestselling work, Female Convict (Macauley, 1932; Pyramid, 1959), sold more than a million copies in paperback. He was designated Poet Laureate of Maryland in 1962 by Governor J. Millard Tawes. Despite a controversial tenure and attempts to unseat him, he remained Poet Laureate until his death in 1979.
