Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet was the first poet and the first female writer in the British North American colonies to be published. Her first volume of poetry was The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, published in 1650. She was born March 20, 1612 in Northampton, Massachusetts and died September 16, 1672 in Andover. She was married to Simon Bradstreet. When they married, she was 16 and he was 25. Mrs. Bradstreet’s works are also considered to represent the struggles of a puritan wife against the hardships of New England colonial life. (www.anne bradstreet.com)
Anne Bradstreet and her parents emigrated to America in 1630 on a ship called the Arabella, one of the first ships to transport Puritans to New England. Many were unable to withstand the harsh climate and poor living conditions of the trip and died before they reached their destination. While on the ship, Anne Bradtsreet, who tutored in literature, several languages, and in history, was not prepared for the hectic journey and found the journey very vigorous. Many of those who had survived the trip, either died shortly after or returned to England because they believed they have been through enough despair.
Life was very difficult, trying to create a new colony, survive on a harsh climate, and with very little provisions. Mrs. Bradstreet did not let this bother her, she had let her imagination and her faith push her through her difficult moments. When she was younger, Bradstreet had fallen ill to smallpox, and now in her refurbished life she had come to be sick again and had let paralysis flow through her joints. She did not let this ruin her family life. She had fought through her illness and had built a new life for her, her husband, and her eight children.
She loved her family and her faith very much. Her poetry was mostly written while her husband was away on errands. She also spent a huge portion of her time teaching and reading to her children just as her