{"id":4576,"date":"2016-04-27T15:42:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T15:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lichen.csd.sc.edu\/sce\/entries\/hyer-helen-von-kolnitz\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T20:08:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T20:08:08","slug":"hyer-helen-von-kolnitz","status":"publish","type":"entry","link":"https:\/\/www.scencyclopedia.org\/sce\/entries\/hyer-helen-von-kolnitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyer, Helen von Kolnitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poet, writer. Hyer was born on December 30, 1896, in Charleston, to George von Kolnitz and Sarah Holmes. She attended Simmons College from 1917 to 1918 and married Edward Hyer in 1921. The couple had four daughters. From childhood she had a love of poetry and memorized poems from a book of nineteenth-century English verse, reciting them to visitors at her grandparents\u2019 home in Mount Pleasant. At Ashley Hall in Charleston, one of her poems was selected as the school song. Hyer won youth poetry prizes as well. Her first poem appeared in Romance <\/em>when she was seventeen; she then was published several times in Adventure Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hyer joined the Poetry Society of South Carolina in 1920. Although younger than most group members, she impressed her peers. \u201cWhat really burnt them up was our first poetry contest,\u201d Hyer recalled. \u201cI won it; they didn\u2019t think a young girl should win.\u201d Her first poetry collection, Santee Songs, <\/em>was published in 1923. That volume was followed by Wine Dark Sea <\/em>(1930), The Wimp and the Woodle, and Other Stories <\/em>(1935), Danger Never Sleeps <\/em>(1970), and What the Wind Forgets a Woman\u2019s Heart Remembers <\/em>(1975). During her more than fifty years of writing poetry, Hyer\u2019s work also appeared in magazines such as Poet Lore, Argosy, <\/em>and the Christian Science Monitor.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1974 Hyer became South Carolina\u2019s second poet laureate\u2013a fitting honor for a poet whose work reflected a deep love for her state. Frequent topics of Hyer\u2019s verse include Confederate heroes, South Carolina history, and southern romance. Tennyson and his theme of Camelot was one of her poetic inspirations; Hyer often recreated that magical myth in the familiar world of Carolina\u2019s lowcountry. Her attention to the outdoor sounds of South Carolina earned recognition as well. The lyrics of her poem \u201cSantee Lullaby\u201d were used by composer Jim Clemens in his choral arrangement \u201cThe Tidelands of Georgetown.\u201d Hyer\u2019s words became part of the first movement, \u201cRiver Lullaby,\u201d premiered by Georgetown\u2019s Indigo Choral Society in 2003.<\/p>\n

Hyer\u2019s more serious compositions were balanced with playful poems. In 1968 a limerick of hers won the Poetry Society\u2019s prize: \u201cA lady who lived just to borrow, \/ Moved next to us, much to our sorrow. \/ We fulfilled all her wishes, \/ Now she has all our dishes\u2013 \/ To our sorrow, we\u2019ll borrow, tomorrow.\u201d Another playful poem, \u201cPortrait of Two Ancient Ladies,\u201d jests: \u201cHer waist is small, her shoes are tight, \/ She wears black silk and diamond broaches, \/ Her parlor\u2019s full of Hepplewhite \/ Her kitchen\u2019s full of roaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyer cared about spreading a love of poetry in South Carolina, particularly among the state\u2019s young people. She fulfilled her role of poet laureate well, traveling and giving poetry readings, allowing many to hear the musical rhythms of her verse firsthand. She died in Beaufort on November 14, 1983, and was buried in Charleston\u2019s Magnolia Cemetery.<\/p>\n

Allen, Paul Edward. \u201cHelen von Kolnitz Hyer: South Carolina Poet Laureate.\u201d South Carolina Review <\/em>9 (November 1976): 115\u201318.<\/p>\n

Starr, William. \u201cAt 81, Helen Hyer Hops around the State Talking about Poetry.\u201d Columbia State, <\/em>May 7, 1978, pp. E1, E2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Poet, writer. Hyer was born on December 30, 1896, in Charleston, to George von Kolnitz and Sarah Holmes. She attended Simmons College from 1917 to 1918 and married Edward Hyer in 1921. The couple had four daughters. 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