Henry Tim Chambers Collection

Henry Tim Chambers was born on May 15, 1903 in Mt. Park, Oklahoma Territory. His mother was Villa Lenora Chambers. His father was editor of the local paper, The Nashville Oklahoma News. Chambers was small in stature as a boy, and was usually picked last in sporting games. However, he found solace in poetry, and his first poem was published at the age of four in his father’s newspaper. He attended the Oklahoma Institute of Technology and Henry Kendall College. He also took classes at Millsaps College, Indiana University, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Alice Lloyd College and the University of Louisville. In 1939 he moved from Oklahoma to New Orleans.

Chambers shied away from a newspaper career upon the emergence of radio, feeling that radio would put the newspaper man out of business. Over the course of his lifetime, he published numerous articles and books of poetry. One of his frequent co-writers was Mr. James (Jim) Bateman, and their friendship and partnership became legendary among poetry circles. In 1971, Chambers settled in Jackson, Mississippi, where he resided until his death in May of 1988. He left behind a wife and three children.