ANNE BRADSTREET 1 ST AMERICAN POET

 Born in England  Raised with a Puritan upbringing  Grew up in a wealthy environment  Was 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 Bradstreet  Moved 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, MA  Devoted mother to 8 children  She wrote letters, journals, and poetry  Shared with family and friends MARRIED LIFE

 1650 her 1 st 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 Shakespeare  Women writers rare in this time period  Interesting that first American poet was a teenage girl  Wrote about domestic life (her children, personal tragedies, her husband) and God (spiritual poetry) LITERARY MERITS