The year of Anne's birth is not known but guessed to be 1612; she was born in Northampton, England. Her father, Thomas Dudley, had been a military man who later turned to business. At age sixteen she married Simon Bradstreet and two years later sailed on the Arabella to America. Anne's father and his family also sailed to America. Both Dudley and Simon Bradstreet were active politically, serving as governors of the Massachusetts Bay colony.

Bradstreet’s Poetry

"I had eight birds hatcht in one nest,
Four Cocks there were, and Hens the rest."

In this light-hearted poem, Bradstreet is whimsically portraying the fact of her large family. She bore Simon Bradstreet eight children, and among her many noteworthy descendents is included the poet Edwin Arlington Robinson.

When Anne was not occupied with the hardships of colonial life and family duties, she worked on her writing, which she took quite seriously. She began writing early in her life. Some of her manuscripts bear dates that show she must have been practicing her poetic art from age twenty.

Her brother-in-law, John Woodbridge, sailed to England taking her manuscript with him. Without Anne's knowledge or consent he had it published in England in 1650 under the title, The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America: By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts.

It is not chiefly by those poems that Anne is remembered, but by later revisions and volumes that appeared after the poet's death. She is probably best known for poem, "Contemplations."

Most Anthologized Poem

One of her most anthologized poems is "To My Dear and Loving Husband":

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee:
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
Thy heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persever
Then when we live no more, we may live ever.

Interestingly, it is thought that Anne never intended this poem to be made public, yet it is one her best loved poems.

Source for quotations and biographical information:
Bradley, Beatty, Long, eds. The American Tradition in Literature. Vol 1. Norton: New York, 1962.
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Books by Linda Sue Grimes:

Singing in the Silence: Poems of Faith

In 1978, I began studying the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I still study those teachings and strive to practice what I learn. I think of my writing as an extension and reinforcement of my spiritual studies. I am especially happy when the poems focus on my spiritual journey, as those in this volume do. I want to take sadness and turn it into joy, and I want to take anger and turn it into acceptance. But mostly, I want to acknowledge the beauty and mystery of God's presence in creation.


Jiggery Jee's Eden Valley Stories

Hello, my name is Jiggery-Jee. I live in Eden Valley. Eden Valley is located in the very center of the Land of the Imagination. Surrounding Eden Valley are such places as Tulip Grove, Carrot Valley, Bunnyville, Faultner Grove, and Flower Town. We have many residents in Eden Valley who came to the Valley from the surrounding places. They come here because Eden Valley is peaceful. All of the residents of Eden Valley work and play and live in an atmosphere of harmony. The weather is always perfect; the sun shines when we need sun, and the rain rains when we need rain. However, I must warn you that although things really are peaceful and harmonious in Eden Valley, sometimes they do not start out that way; we often have to work to make life peaceful and harmonious.
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