born March 24, 1754, Redding, Connecticut Colony [U.S.]
died Dec. 24, 1812, 017B; arnowiec, Pol.
U.S. writer and poet.
He was a member of the group of young writers known as the Hartford (or Connecticut) Wits, whose patriotism led them to attempt to create a national literature. He became famous for his Vision of Columbus (1787), a poetic paean to America, but is remembered primarily for The Hasty Pudding (1796), a mock-heroic epic poem inspired by homesickness for New England.