Bessie Anderson Stanley (born Caroline Elizabeth Anderson, March 25, 1879 – October 2, 1952) was an American writer, the author of the poem "Success" ("What is success?" or "What Constitutes Success?"), which is often incorrectly attributed[1] to Ralph Waldo Emerson[2][3] or Robert Louis Stevenson.[4]

She was born in Newton, Iowa, and married Arthur Jehu Stanley in 1900, living thereafter in Lincoln, Kansas. Her poem was written in 1904 for a contest held in Brown Book Magazine,[5] by George Livingston Richards Co. of Boston, Massachusetts[2] Mrs. Stanley submitted the words in the form of an essay, rather than as a poem. The competition was to answer the question "What is success?" in 100 words or less. Mrs. Stanley won the first prize of $250.[6]

Written in verse form, it reads:

He achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much;
Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;
Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it;
Who has left the world better than he found it,
Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it;*
Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;
Whose life was an inspiration;
Whose memory a benediction.

— Success
  • This line is inscribed on Stanley's gravestone (source, 2004 photography found at chebucto.ns.ca subdirectory Philosophy subdirectory Sui-Generis sub directory Emerson file monument dot jpg

The poem was in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations in the 1930s or 1940s but was mysteriously removed in the 1960s.[5] It was again included in the seventeenth edition. However, it does appear in a 1911 book, More Heart Throbs, volume 2, on pages 1–2.[7]

Misattribution

Ann Landers (and her sister Abby) are also said to have misattributed the poem to Emerson and her concession to a public correction is in The Ann Landers Encyclopedia.[5]

Personal life

Bessie Anderson Stanley died in 1952, aged 73. The verse is inscribed on her gravestone in Lincoln Cemetery, Kansas.

References

  1. ↑ Such as in this memorial: Max Kreger, a memorial Archived September 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Sandusky District Library, Sandusky, Michigan
  2. 1 2 "What Constitutes Success": A $250 Prize Story by a Lincoln Woman Archived September 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Lincoln Sentinel, November 30, 1905 (archived by Bill and Diana Sowers on Lincoln County, Kansas Genealogy & History website)
  3. ↑ In Search of Success, extensive research by Dirk H. Kelder (personal website)
  4. ↑ Reader's Digest Admits Mistake Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, November 5, 1953 (archived by Bill and Diana Sowers on Lincoln County, Kansas Genealogy & History website)
  5. 1 2 3 The Truth behind the Poem "Success" (email exchange between Robin Olson and Bethanne Larson, Stanley's great-granddaughter, on "Robin's Web" website)
  6. ↑ The winning paid off the mortgage on her house. "Bessie Stanley's Famous Poem" Archived September 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Grosset & Dunlap of New York, 1911, by Chapple Publishing Company Ltd. of Boston, MA (from Success: Finding a Gem among the Litter in the Literature, Chuck Anastasia, Coolspark blog, February 24, 2007)
  • "Success", Mila Tasseva for The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society, April 15, 2003
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