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Channing, William Ellery (1780 - 1842)



An American Unitarian clergyman, much involved in the Unitarian controversy, c. 1815. He exercised a marked influence on American intellectual life, and is considered a forerunner of the Transcendentalists. His Remarks on American Literature (1830) calls for a literary Declaration of Independence. His many pamphlets on slavery, pacifism, social questions, etc., are included in his collected Works (6 vols, 1841-3).

His nephew, also William Ellery Channing (1818-1901), poet and Transcendentalist, contributed frequently to The Dial and is remembered largely as the friend of Emerson (who first brought his poetry to public attention) and of Thoreau, whose biography Channing wrote. His first volume of verse, Poems (1843), was followed by several others. Thoreau referred to Channing's poetic style as 'sublime-slipshod'.