Cale Young Rice

Cale Young Rice (December 7, 1872 – January 24, 1943) was an American poet and dramatist.

He was born in Dixon, Kentucky to Laban Marchbanks Rice, a Confederate veteran and tobacco merchant, and his wife Martha Lacy. He was a younger brother of Laban Lacy Rice, a noted educator. Cale Rice grew up in Evansville, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. He was educated at Cumberland University and at Harvard (A.B., 1895; A.M., 1896).

He was married to the popular author Alice Hegan Rice; they worked together on several books. The marriage was childless, and Cale committed suicide by gunshot during the night of January 23-24 at his home in Louisville a year after her death due to his sorrow at losing her.

Cale Rice's poems were collected and published in a single volume by his brother, Laban Lacy Rice.

His birthplace in Dixon is designated by Kentucky State Historical Marker 1508, which reads:

"Birthplace of Rice brothers, Cale Young, 1872-1943, noted poet and author; Laban Lacy, 1870-1973, well-known educator and author. Lacy published The Best Poetic Works of Cale Young Rice after Cale's death. Included in famous collection is poem, "The Mystic." Cale married Alice Hegan, also a distinguished Kentucky writer. Home overlooks Memorial Garden."


Famous quotes containing the words cale, young and/or rice:

    I like it here in New York. I like the idea of having to keep eyes in the back of your head all the time.
    —John Cale (b. 1940)

    He sailed east, he sailed west,
    He sailed into proud Turkey,
    —Unknown. Young Beichan (l. 5–6)

    The arbitrary division of one’s life into weeks and days and hours seemed, on the whole, useless. There was but one day for the men, and that was pay day, and one for the women, and that was rent day. As for the children, every day was theirs, just as it should be in every corner of the world.
    —Alice Caldwell Rice (1870–1942)