Joseph Rodman Drake

Joseph Rodman Drake (1795–1820) was an American poet and physician associated with New York’s early literary scene. Trained in medicine, he practiced as a doctor while writing verse that helped shape American Romantic poetry. He is best known for the narrative poem “The Culprit Fay” (1819), a fanciful work set in the Hudson River Highlands that became his signature achievement. Drake also collaborated with Fitz-Greene Halleck on the satirical “Croaker” papers, a series of witty newspaper pieces that commented on contemporary politics and society. His promising career was cut short when he died in 1820 at age 25.