Desiderata
the inspirational prose-poem by Max Ehrmann
may no longer be posted here according to Robert L. Bell, current owner of the copyright since 1971. Desiderata may not be used online or offline in anthologies without paying the standard fee of $500 as well as getting Mr. Bell's consent. Mr. Bell can be reached at 427 So. Shore Dr., Sarasota, FL 34234 USA.Free use is given to the blind, as well as certain charitable institutions, after written permission from Mr. Bell, and with copyright notice used.
"Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence. . . "
It has been said in error that Desiderata was 'found' at Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore and that it dates back to 1692. It was actually written by Max Ehrmann, a lawyer in Terra Haute, Indiana, USA, in 1927.
Rev. Frederick Ward Kates, rector of Old St. Paul's Church in the late '50s, one said in a 1977 interview that he probably "found" Desiderata in a magazine at the barbershop. Rev. Kates often mimeographed inspirational verse in booklet form and placed the booklets in pews around the church. He decided to use Desiderata on the front page of one of these booklets and, as was his custom, printed it on church letterhead that included the year of the church's founding, A.D. 1692!
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