March 24 - Fanny Crosby (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Fanny Crosby (24 March 1820 –12 February 1915) was an American mission worker and poet, particularly of hymns.

[Previous post for March 24th may be found here: Maria Malibran (2019) and Maria Malibran (2020)]

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Great Things She Hath Done; or, Pentameters for Fanny Crosby

She wrote so many [hymns] that she was forced to use pen names lest the hymnals be filled with her name above all others. --"Fanny Crosby: Prolific and blind hymn writer," (Christianity Today)

 

[S]he preferred to write simple, sentimental verses that could be used for evangelism.-- "Fanny Crosby: Prolific and blind hymn writer," (Christianity Today) 

 

 

Fanny Crosby wrote so many hymns,

She covered up the fact with pseudonyms;

And yet it’s hard to say where she belongs

In spite of penning many thousand songs.

She was (we must admit it) really big,

Though some have always found her infra dig.

One faction says, Exclude her from the hymnal,

Another says, To leave her out is crim’nal.

Since hymns like hers have come to represent

The born-again religion of the tent,

It’s not at all surprising that we find

Her output is neglected or maligned

Among the more liturgically inclined;

And this is why her lyrical effusions

Can trigger such dissimilar conclusions.

 

 

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