John Reuben Thompson (23 October 1823-30 April 1873), poet and editor, was born of Northern parents in Richmond, Virginia. Although he was first schooled in Richmond, his parents, showing their regional background, sent him to preparatory school in East Haven, Connecticut. There Thompson wrote his first poem, "To Fanny," which, like the rest of his verse, was not collected into a single volume in his lifetime.

In 1840 Thompson entered the University of Virginia. He continued to develop his literary interests, joining the Washington Society for "debate and literary improvement" and contributing poems to the undergraduate magazine, the Collegian. But Thompson left Charlottesville in 1842 for Richmond, where he studied law with an attorney. In 1844 he returned to the University and the following year graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Law did not agree with Thompson; he had never lost the literary inclinations of his youth. Accordingly, when the Southern Literary...