"In the early days of the Texas Republic, an argument arose. Who was the first Texas poet? Mirabeau Lamar, who served as the second president of the Republic of Texas, always claimed that he was the first Texas poet. However, there was a newspaper man, Hugh Kerr, who also claimed to be the first person in Texas to write poetry." --Rose-Mary Rumbley, The Unauthorized History of Dallas Texas (1991)
