The Works Of Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet, the first true poet in the American colonies, wrote at a time and in a place where literary creation was rare, especially for women. Born in England and raised in the household of the Earl of Lincoln, her father Thomas Dudley, she sailed to Massachusetts Bay in 1630 after marrying Simon Bradstreet at sixteen. For forty years, she lived in the New England wilderness, raising a family of eight, facing sickness and hardship, and writing poetry. This edition includes her extant poetry and prose with modernized spelling and punctuation, reproducing the second edition of Several Poems (1678) and a manuscript printed in 1857. Foreword by Adrienne Rich offers critique; scholarly notes and appendices by Jeannine Hensley make this authoritative edition. Bradstreet's work reflects her broad learning, personal feelings, religious sense, and depth of emotion for her family, establishing her as a poet of sensibility and stature.