Anne Bradstreet is often referred to as "America's first poet." Born in England, perhaps in 1612, Anne Bradstreet came to New England in 1630 on the Arbella with John Winthrop and the first settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The daughter of Thomas Dudley, the second governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Anne Dudley, age 16, married Simon Bradstreet, her childhood sweetheart, at the age of 25. With him, Anne bore eight children. Moving frequently, the Bradstreet family finally settled in Andover, Massachusetts. Anne Bradstreet is the first poet of note in the American colonies. A master of the conventions of Neo-classical style, her spirited, witty poetry rivals the best of her English counterparts. On a trip to England in 1650, her brother-in-law was instrumental in the publication of a collection of her work, published under the name The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America. Throughout their marriage, Anne was occasionally separated from her prosperous husband, and the apostrophes to her love for him in absence remains some her most popular poetry. One of the most renowned public servants of his day, Simon Bradstreet served as governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony for ten years following Anne's death in 1672. |
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education