In the brilliant constellation of nineteenth-century New England intellectuals, Maria White Lowell shines with a particular poignancy—not merely because her light was extinguished too soon, but because her influence radiated far beyond the slim volume of verses published after her death. Born Anna Maria White on July 8, 1821, in Watertown, Massachusetts, she lived only thirty-two years, yet in that brief span she tra…
“It is easy enough to be married—the newspaper columns show us that every day, but to live and be happy as simple King and Queen without the gifts of fortune, this is, I confess, a triumph which suits my nature better.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Devotional Poets, Love Poets, Romantic Poets, Transcendentalists, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Despair, Sorrow, Longing
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, born Lydia Howard Huntley on 1 September 1791 in Norwich, Connecticut, became one of the most widely read, industrious, and culturally influential American writers of the nineteenth century. During the height of her career, her poems were printed in newspapers and magazines, memorized by schoolchildren, recited at funerals, quoted from pulpits, and displayed in family albums. She wrote for re…
“My mind was made up never to leave my parents. I felt that their absorbing love could never be repaid by the longest life-service.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Romantic Poets, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Spirituality
