Before
sprawling on the grass of the Great Lawn in Central Park, you should first
wander The Literary Walk that is located under the giant elm trees at the
southern tip of The Mall.
Stretching for
six blocks, the Literary Walk boasts five of the Park’s 29 bronze statues. In addition to Shakespeare, you’ll find
Scottish icons Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, as well as Christopher
Columbus (who seems an odd choice for such company).
But the fifth statue is of the lesser-known Fitz-Greene
Halleck, a Connecticut poet and satirist whose provocative work and personal
life led to his being considered America’s answer to Lord Byron.
In 1877, ten years after Halleck died, he
became the first American to be honoured with a statue in Central Park. And while he and his poetry are relatively
unknown today, Halleck was so beloved at the time that his statue’s unveiling
ceremony was hosted US President Hayes, and was attended by more than thirty
thousand people.
