Ye Old Reading Room

-- By Emily Dickenson --

Emily Dickenson wrote over 1,800 poems in her lifetime, none of which were titled. Of those 1,800 only 10 were published during her lifetime. It was not until, upon her death in 1886, her younger sister Lavinia found a cache of Emily's work. Emily's first collection of poetry was published four yeas after her death in 1890. A complete collection of her work was not published until 1955 under the oversight of scholar Thomas H. Johnson. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

While Rossetti's famous poem is often known by the first line, In the Bleak Midwinter was originally published under the title A Christmas Carol. The poem was first published in Scribner's Monthly in 1872 before Rossetti republished it in the 1875 collection Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress and Other Poems. Gustav Holst was the first to write music for In the Bleak Midwinter in 1906, however he is not the only composer to have arranged the song. Famous composer Harold Darke also arranged the piece while still studying at the Royal College of Music in South Kensington, London. The piece has been featured in modern television shows like Peaky Blinders, and most notably the series premier of The Crown. 

Contemporaneously, Rossetti was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1872 and suffered a major flare up that almost took her life around the time of her diagnosis. Christina's sister, Maria Francesca Rossetti an essayist and nun, would also pass away just one year after in 1876. Christina had previously dedicated the title poem Goblin Market to her sister. 

-- By John Milton --   

During his lifetime John Milton received international renowned for his English, Latin, and Italian poetry. The son of John Milton the musical composer, John Milton the poet was born on Bread Street in London on December 9, 1608. He attended St. Paul's School in London, where he began his studies in Greek and Latin, before continuing his studies at Christ's College in 1625. 

On the Morning of Christ's Nativity appeared in Milton's first publication, a collection of poetry entitled 1645 Poems. This was his only poetry publication until his most famous work Paradise Lost, was published in 1667. By that time, Milton was completely blind and dictated all of his work to assistants. The exact cause of Milton's blindness is unknown to historians. Milton lived until November 8, 1674 and his grave can still be found in the Anglican church, St.Giles Cripplegate, on Fore St. in London. 

-- By E.E. Cummings --

Edward Estlin Cummings was born October 14th, 1894 and was a prolific American writer through poetry, books, stage plays, essays, and TWO autobiographical novels. Cummings was one of the pioneers of modern free-form poetry including the use of irregular lowercase spellings as a vessel of artistic expression. 

During the First World War Cummings enlisted into the Ambulance Corp through the American Field Service where he met fellow novelist and French literary translator William Slater Brown. The two were able to explore Paris for five weeks thanks to not receiving assignment due to a clerical error. During the war Cummings wrote his first novel, The Enormous Room, which was published in 1922 (just two years after this poem) and was lauded even by the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

Following the war, Cummings returned to Paris a number of times and even lived there for a short time. He continues to travel extensively through the rest of his life. E.E. Cummings passed away on September 3, 1962 at the age of 67. 

-- By Francis Pharcellus Church -- 

In September of 1897, Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun and a response was printed as an editorial. The editorial response, written by Francis Pharcellus Church, has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial in over 50 languages.

Virginia gained a minor level of national celebrity. She went on to enroll at the Hunter College and in 1910 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Two years later in 1912, O’Hanlon received her Masters in education from Columbia University. Virginia earned her doctorate degree from Fordham University in 1930. O’Hanlon went on to become an assistant principal in the New York public school system.

Francis Pharcellus Church was born in Rochester, New York and graduated from Columbia University. He was a war correspondent for the New York Times during the civil war. He published Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Clause at the age of 56 years old. He lives until 1906 and passed at the age of 67. The local daily published her letter every Christmas season until 1949.

-- By Robert Southwell --

Robert Southwell was a Jesuit priest born in 1561 and ordained in 1584. His extensive studies began in 1576 and would take him from Douai in France to Paris to Rome where he completed his studies. 

In 1584 Queen Elizabeth began to enact sanctions on Catholic believers and clergy. Upon his own request, Southwell was sent as a missionary to England and arrived in July of 1586. Southwell worked for 6 years before his arrest and brutal execution on February 21, 1595.  

After Southwell's death his poems were published in St.Peter's Complaint with Other Poems which was printed by renowned book printers and publishers John Windet for sale by John Wolfe in Elizabethan England.  

-- By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow --

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on February 27, 1807 in Portland, Maine while the area was still a part of Massachusetts. Henry was the second of 8 children and his mother was the descendent of Richard Warren, a passenger of the Mayflower. He studied at both Bowdoin College and Harvard College. 

At the age of 13, he published his first poem in the Portland Gazette in November 1820. At Bowdoin College Longfellow began a life long friendship with (yet to be) renowned American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. After college, Longfellow spent a significant amount of time in Europe before delving into his immensely successful writing career.

Christmas Bells was published in his 1863 poetry collection Tales of a Wayside Inn. 

Longfellows life is well documented and we will be revisiting his background in future episodes. 

-- By Christina Rossetti --

While most known for Christmas carols In the Bleak Midwinter and Love Came Down at Christmas, Christina Rossetti was quite a prolific 19th century English poet.  In the Bleak Midwinter was written in 1871 but was only arranged by composer Gustav Holst 35 years later in 1906. 

Rossetti was born in London on December 5, 1830. She was first published in April 1850 at 19 years of age with her literary periodical The Germ. Her most extensive work, Goblin Market and Other Poems, was published in 1862. Rosetti suffered from Graves' disease late in life and developed breast cancer in 1893 before succumbing to breast cancer on December 29, 1894. She was laid to rest on New Years Day 1895 at Highgate Cemetery in North London where her grave can still be visited. 

-- By Anne Brontë --

Anne Brontë was born January 17, 1820 to Maria Branwell and Patrick Brontë. The youngest member of the Brontë family, Anne and her sisters Charlotte and Emily all achieved great literary success in both novels and poetry during their lifetimes. 

Anne Brontë is most well known for her novel: Wuthering Heights. The book was her second publication and released in December 1847, the same month as her first novel Agnes Grey. Anne used a number of pseudonyms in publication including Acton Bell and Ellis Bell. 

Tragically, none of the 6 Brontë children made it past the age of 38. The father Patrick Brontë outlived all his children and died in June 1777. Although their time on Earth was short the children of Patrick Brontë have had an impact on Literature that continues for centuries. Anne Brontë's grave can be visited at the churchyard of St. Mary's Church in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England.  

-- By Clement Clarke Moore --

This poem, commonly retitled after the first line, was anonymously written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823 at 44 years olde. The poem was first published in the Sentinel newspaper in Troy, New York after being submitted my one of Moore's friends. 

Throughout his career Moore published a number of pamphlets and other literature, often outspoken about political issues or offering extensive support to he Episcopalian church. Moore served twice as president of Columbia College (now Columbia University). 

The poem was first attributed to Moore in The New-York Book of Poetry in 1837. The poem is well known throughout the world, however the origin and authorship is still widely debated by scholars.