Description
Poems written by G.V. Hamilton, M.D., a psychiatrist
who studied animal behavior mainly in primates, then became interested in human
sexual behavior, especially that of married couples, and spent approximately the
last fifteen years of his life as a clinical psychoanalyst. Dr. Hamilton
published his research findings in books and articles, but also published one
novel and composed the unpublished poems that make up this collection. Included
are approximately 30 short poems which look back upon various life stages, and
one long narrative poem titled "Limbo", a Dante-like guided journey of a poet
seeking the meaning of life and death.
Background
G. V. Hamilton (Gilbert Van Tassel) was born in Ohio in 1877. He graduated
from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1898 and received his M.D. from Jefferson
Medical College in 1901. Interested in the relationship between psychology and
mental diseases, he became a resident medical officer at McLean Hospital in
Waltham, MA from 1905 to 1907, and concurrently studied at Harvard University
Graduate School. At McLean, Hamilton collaborated with the chief psychologist,
Shepherd Ivory Franz, who had done studies on the effects of brain lesions on
learned behavior; together they published a study on exercise and depression. At
Harvard, he met R. M. Yerkes, who steered him to a comparative approach in the
study of behavior, and who remained a valued colleague.
Extent
1 box (0.5 linear ft.)
Restrictions
Property rights in the physical objects belong to the UCLA Biomedical
Library. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and
their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission
to publish if the Biomedical Library does not hold the copyright.
Availability
Collection is open for research.