Monday – March 6

Today’s famous poet is Anne Dudley Bradstreet.  She was the first woman to be recognized as an accomplished New World Poet.  She never attended school but received an excellent education from her father.  Anne married Simon Bradstreet in 1628 and came to the colonies with him in 1630.  She was not pleased to come to the colonies, but as a good Puritan she followed her family and husband.  They moved several times to improve their standard of living.  Anne gave birth to eight children between 1633 and 1652 which kept her very busy, but she also found time to write poetry.  It is believed she wrote poetry for herself, her family, and friends.  Her early poetry was taken to England by her brother-in-law and published in 1650, possibly without her permission.  The book was called The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America and with it she became the first female poet published in both England and the New World.  She continued writing until her death in 1672.