1612 - 1672ANNE BRADSTREET1ST AMERICAN POET

Born in EnglandRaised with a Puritan upbringingGrew up in a wealthy environmentWas provided an education

Unusual for a woman Supposedly had eight tutors

Had access to books Her father worked as steward to Earl of Lincoln

EARLY LIFE

Got married at 16 to Simon BradstreetMoved to the colonies with her husband in 1630

Husband, Simon, became a governor He was away from home often for political responsibilities

Lived near Salem, MADevoted mother to 8 childrenShe wrote letters, journals, and poetry

Shared with family and friends

MARRIED LIFE

1650 her 1st book of poetry published Called The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, By a

Gentlewoman of Those Parts Her brother-in-law secretly took her work to London

Her poetry was popular in England and the colonies People identified with her subjects – and she was a woman

Wrote at the same time as ShakespeareWomen writers rare in this time period

Interesting that first American poet was a teenage girlWrote about domestic life (her children, personal

tragedies, her husband) and God (spiritual poetry)

LITERARY MERITS