Joaquin Miller
The Self-Invented Man

It is difficult to sort out the fact from the fiction in the life of Joaquin Miller, born Cincinnatus Hiner Miller in Indiana in 1837, not in a covered wagon in 1842 as he always claimed. Ambrose Bierce called him "the greatest liar this country has ever produced," and in fact his autobiography is classified as fiction in libraries.

It was Oakland’s famous librarian and California’s first poet laureate Ina Coolbrith who told him if he wanted to be a successful poet he had to have a more romantic presentation. She encouraged him to change his name to Joaquin, grow his hair long, dress in buckskins, and adopt the persona of the Wild West. In this character, he traveled to Europe and was a sensation at London parties with his sombrero, polka dot bandana, and high-heeled boots, handing out calling cards that read "Joaquin Miller, Byron of the Rockies."

We do know that when he returned from Europe in 1883, he acquired 70 acres at the heart of what is now Joaquin Miller Park, and made Oakland his home for the rest of his life. He planted acacia, eucalyptus, and pine to create a forest on the grassy hill. He personally built several monuments to people he admired, including Robert Browning and Moses. He built his own funeral pyre, which the city wouldn’t let him use. After his death, his family sold his property to the city of Oakland, but his daughter Juanita continued to live there for decades, carrying on her father’s tradition of flamboyant behavior.

Joaquin Miller, Byron of the Rockies

Some of the many internet resources about Joaquin Miller:

http://www.traverse.com/people/dot/miller_london.html

http://www.notfrisco.com/calmem/miller/

http://www.cateweb.org/CA_Authors/miller.html

http://www.literarytraveler.com/miller/joaquinmiller.htm