 On August 27 , 1829 , he wrote to the president of Bowdoin that he was turning down the professorship because he considered the $ 600 salary " disproportionate to the duties required " . The trustees raised his salary to $ 800 with an additional $ 100 to serve as the college 's librarian , a post which required one hour of work per day . During his years teaching at the college , he translated textbooks in French , Italian and Spanish ; his first published book was in 1833 , a translation of the poetry of medieval Spanish poet Jorge Manrique . He also published a travel book , Outre @-@ Mer : A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea , first published in serial form before a book edition was released in 1835 . Shortly after the book 's publication , Longfellow attempted to join the literary circle in New York and asked George Pope Morris for an editorial role at one of Morris 's publications . Longfellow considered moving to New York after New York University considered offering him a newly created professorship of modern languages , though there would be no salary . The professorship was not created and Longfellow agreed to continue teaching at Bowdoin . It may have been joyless work . He wrote , " I hate the sight of pen , ink , and paper ... I do not believe that I was born for such a lot . I have aimed higher than this " . 
