Oscar Wilde in Iowa Again!

2006

Legend has it that when British poet and playwright Oscar Wilde launched his lecture tour of America in January 1882, he told the customs officials, “I have nothing to declare but my genius!”

The paparazzi went “Wilde” about Oscar. He was a “dandys dandy”flamboyant in velvet suits with knee breeches, silken stockings, buckled shoes and swinging capes that graced his stature and punctuated his panache. To the delight of the press, he was eminently quotablespeaking in sound bytes a century before the term became part of popular culture. It was said of Wilde that “The epigrams fell from his lips like sparks from a red-hot anvil.”

Wilde was a leader of the Pre-Raphaelite movement of artists and writers dedicated to romanticized beauty. He moved in charmed circles. During his American visit, he was entertained by the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and Ward McAllister (arbiter of “the 400”). While on his American tour, Wilde met many of the literary greats of his time, including Louisa May Alcott and Walt Whitman.

Wilde also toured Iowa, making seven appearances from March 1 to April 29 in 1882. His stops included Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fremont, Iowa City, Rock Island and Sioux City.

In the end, the spotlight that had shone so brightly on the wit and writer proved too harsh. To paraphrase Wilde biographer Richard Ellman, “Victorianism returned in full force against him.”

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