Poems

Frances Ellen Watkins HarperProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 68K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Poems by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. Author: Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins, 1825-1911. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Oct 1, 1996.

Editor's review

This collection brings together poems by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a nineteenth-century African American woman writer and orator. Her poetry is plain and powerful in language, often centering on freedom, faith, family, and racial justice, and combines hymn-like rhythm with the force of public oratory. As a public-domain ebook, it gives readers easy access to an important voice in early African American literature and suits readers interested in American literary history, texts from the abolitionist era, or an introduction to English poetry. The lines are not obscure and suit fragmentary reading; the book can also serve as a literary entry point for understanding nineteenth-century American social issues. Note that this is an English public-domain original without translation, notes, or background introduction, so readers must supply the historical context themselves.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language readers interested in African American literature and nineteenth-century poetry
Students and enthusiasts studying abolitionist-era literature and social issues
Advanced learners who want to practice English reading with short poems

Not a good fit for

Beginners who need a Chinese translation or detailed notes
Readers expecting modern free verse or contemporary themes

Reading tips

Read through the table of contents first, then choose short poems with clear themes and read them closely; there is no need to push through in order.
While reading, note images of faith, freedom, and family to connect the themes.
Read alongside background material on nineteenth-century American history to understand the social references in the poems.
Read two or three poems a day aloud to feel their hymn-like rhythm and tone.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or the English original?

This is an English public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English, with no Chinese translation or notes.

Can I read it without experience in reading poetry?

You can try. Harper's language is relatively direct and the poems are not long, but they involve nineteenth-century American social and religious background, so it is advisable to look up relevant historical information as you read.

Is it suitable for studying American literary history?

It can serve as supplementary material. It presents the voice of a nineteenth-century African American woman poet, but this collection alone cannot cover the whole of literary history; other anthologies and materials are needed.

Comments

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About the author

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Author · American · 1825–1911

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911) was an African American poet, novelist, and abolitionist, born in Baltimore to a free Black family. Throughout her life she was active in the abolitionist, temperance, and women's suffrage movements, and her writing was closely intertwined with her social activism. Her poems address racial oppression, faith, and moral responsibility in plain yet powerful language. Her novel Iola Leroy, or, Shadows Uplifted centers on a mixed-race woman's origins and struggles and is an important early work of African American women's fiction. Other works, including Sowing and Reaping: A Temperance Story, Minnie's Sacrifice, and Trial and Triumph, draw on temperance, faith, and everyday life, combining moral instruction with social critique. Five of her works are held in this collection. Public information is limited, so biographical details cannot be fully recounted, but the subjects and stance of her works sufficiently show her place in nineteenth-century African American literature and reform movements.