Ina Donna Coolbrith (March 10, 1841 â€" February 29, 1928) was an
American poet, writer, librarian, and a prominent figure in the San
Francisco Bay Area literary community. Called the "Sweet Singer of
California", she was the first California Poet Laureate and the first
poet laureate of any American state.Coolbrith, born the niece of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith, left
the Mormon community as a child to enter her teens in Los Angeles,
California, where she began to publish poetry. She terminated a
youthful failed marriage to make her home in San Francisco, and met
writers Bret Harte and Charles Warren Stoddard with whom she formed
the "Golden Gate Trinity" closely associated with the literary journal
Overland Monthly. Her poetry received positive notice from critics and
established poets such as Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce and Alfred Lord
Tennyson. She held literary salons at her home in Russian Hillâ€"in
this way she introduced new writers to publishers. Coolbrith
befriended the poet Joaquin Miller and helped him gain global
fame.While Miller toured Europe and lived out their mutual dream of
visiting Lord Byron's tomb, Coolbrith was saddled with custody of his
daughter and the care of members of her own family. As a result, she
came to reside in Oakland and accepted the position of city librarian.
Her poetry suffered as a result of her long work hours, but she
mentored a generation of young readers including Jack London and
Isadora Duncan. After she served for 19 years, Oakland's library
patrons called for reorganization, and Coolbrith was fired. She moved
back to San Francisco and was invited by members of the Bohemian Club
to be their librarian. Ina Coolbrith Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter