Willis Vernon Cole

Willis Vernon Cole (1882 - 1939) was an American poet and author. He produced five volumes of poetry, and four historical fiction novels, two of which were award-winning. He was noted for his anthology of World War I poems, as well. Cole also gained notoriety for being tried in the Criminal Branch of the New York Supreme Court from 1911 to 1916 for practicing medicine without a license, being found guilty, and then winning his appeal.

Early life Willis Vernon Cole was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 3, 1882, to Willis Herbert Cole and Mary Elizabeth Stinchfield. He grew up in Detroit and attended the Art Students League of New York in New York City, where he studied sculpture and fine art. In 1903, at 20 years old, his eyesight had been failing in one eye, and in the other he began having trouble when medical doctors gave up hope on his recovery. He later reported during trial that, “God did the healing”, through Christian Science prayer treatment. Cole eventually became First Reader (conductor of services) in the Christian Science Church and then a practitioner himself, writing and producing four volumes of inspirational poetry, much of which was devoted to Christian Science.

In 1911, Cole married Agnes Young. The couple lived in Manhattan and Greenwich Village, where Cole continued his practice of Christian Science treatment and writing poetry. The Coles' circle of friends contained many notable persons of the day. Authors, playwrights, politicians, royalty, scientists, painters and military generals were among them. Cole was the official government anthologist of World War I songs and poetry, His case gained more importance as it became a test case to determine whether practicing Christian Science was legal or not, and Cole was represented during the trials by Samuel Untermyer and Henry D. Estabrook. In total he stood for a total of four trials, lasting five years. The trials were widely publicized, creating heated debate - and finally a permanent ruling - on what constitutes freedom of religious practice in the treatment of bodily ills. Cole won through a unanimous ruling by the New York Court of Appeals in 1916, setting the precedent which has since allowed Christian Science practice to be legal, separate and apart from medical practice. In the ruling, Chief Justice Willard Bartlett wrote: "I deny the power of the Legislature to make it a crime to treat disease by prayer."

Later life in France By 1923, Cole was divorced and had begun writing historical fiction in Greenwich Village, New York. After winning an award for his first novel, The Star of the Alamo, in 1926, he retired to France and established himself in a historic Loire chateau, Château de Cinq-Mars, near Tours, where he began making his own wines from the chateau's vineyards and developed this pursuit into a prosperous wine business, "Vins de France". He continued writing novels, winning a second award for Constanza, and in 1927 married Maria Estella Jiminez of Pasadena, California. They had three children in France. During this time, Cole was elected President of the Writers Guild of America.

Willis Vernon Cole died on March 7, 1939, in Luynes, France, shortly before the German invasion, and is buried there. His death was reported on the AP throughout the United States two days following, his obituary stating that "An American Poet Has Died". Cole's works are still widely distributed and can be found in the libraries and classrooms of such colleges as Yale University, Harvard University, Brown University, the Lincoln Presidential Library, the University of Michigan, the New York Public Library, McGill, New York University, and Brandeis.

Publications Our Leader and Other Poems, Anglo American Authors Association, London, New York, 1907. Poems that Heal the Sick, Universal Good Publishing Society, New York, 1908. Our Leader: and the Complete Poetical Works, Cambridge Press, New York, 1920. Cole's Complete Code for Metaphysicians, Universal Good Publishing Company, New York, 1923 ; extracts at religious/missions codes Constanza, Writers Guild, New York, 1927.