The Browning Monument: Poetic Friendships Endure

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On May 5th, I had the great pleasure of celebrating Robert Browning's birthday with Dennis Parks, the president of The San Francisco Browning Society at the Browning Monument in Joaquin Miller Park.

Who were the Brownings and Why is there a Monument to them?

Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were two very famous Romantic-era English poets who were also husband and wife. 

(Fun fact: both Robert and Elizabeth were descendants of mixed-race Jamaicans.) Robert, who survived Elizabeth, formed a genuine personal friendship with Joaquin Miller when Miller found his way into 1870s London literary life. Miller also visited Robert in Italy, where he wrote more books and poems and made more friends. He was likely exposed to the Brownings' poetry all his life. Miners were known to carry their books among their gold-rush supplies!

The San Francisco Browning Society

The Browning Society was first founded in London in 1880, a year before Robert died. Chapters sprouted up all over America, creating a cultural movement to uplift the lives of fans, most of whom were working women. Casa Guidi, their home in Florence, is a palazzo that is still open for tours.

Dennis is the first male president of the San Francisco Browning Society. Robust but gray-bearded, he's also the youngest of its remaining members—five are in their 90s.

The San Francisco Chapter was started in 1902 at The Century Club in San Francisco, and incorporated in the same decade as the California Writers Club and the Ina Coolbrith Circle. (Fun fact: Gertrude Norris, the mother of author Frank Norris, who is honored by a tree in the Memorial Grove, was a founding member Century Club. Many, throughout the years, were Mills alumnae.) Women's Clubs are very rare now but had a crucial historical importance.

The Society had it's own room at the Century Club, where it hosted gatherings, speakers, readings, and special events. The Club repurposed the room a few decades ago, and the collection was sent to the Armstrong Library at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. But they continued to meet for a formal tea, the women wear hats, the men ties, an excuse to dress up through all the ages.

The Browning Memorial

In 1904, some of Miller's poetry/life students, who may certainly have been members of this club, built the "small, medieval-style drum tower crowned with merlons." 

There is a bit of a mystery in this tower. This 1910 photograph shows it in a different shape and a different place! It's fun to imagine mid-century members of this vibrant society making poetic pilgrimages to The Hights!

The Poetry Endures

Do give a FEW listens to Dennis' fabulous, expressive reading of Robert Browning's Paracelsus...



And I bet you recognize this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning! 


That hummingbird! Pure magic!

The Restoration Project

You may notice, in these videos, that the monument is swathed in colorful warning tape. It has been severely damaged since 2020 with increased use of the Park + budget cuts. 

Please donate to the Monument Restoration Campaign!


We hope to celebrate the repair of this monument with some more beautiful Browning poetry and a larger audience than just me on October 12, 2025, at our first "In the Hights" Joaquin Miller Park Literary Festival! Subscribe to this blog and stay tuned for more information! 





Who knows, it might be time for a revival of this historic society of passionate poetry and history lovers! 

A Poetic Friendship

I was so lucky to find Miller's memories of their fortunate friendship! In this article, published in The San Francisco Call and Post, the year Browning died, 1892, Miller describes him with "a massive head" and "lion-like poise", "full-hearted, so full!" This last epithet rings through both of their writings; it's easy to see what they had in common.





Location: Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, CA, USA

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