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
In the quiet Connecticut countryside of Pomfret, on April 10, 1835, a child was born who would become one of the most influential literary figures of the late nineteenth century, though her name today is less remembered than the glittering circle of writers and artists she championed. Ellen Louise Chandler, who would later be known to the literary world as Louise Chandler Moulton, emerged from circumstances that seem…
“I was lonely, and I sought companions. What was there to do but to create them?”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Love Poets, Victorian Poets, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Tenderness, Sorrow