Anne Bradstreet: A Visionary for American Literature

            I have always been fascinated by Anne Bradstreet, particularly by the fact that she was America’s first published poet.  In class, we have briefly discussed how women’s writing was often times in the past suppressed and not seen as true art.  I find it ironic that such writing was diminished when in fact it was a woman who initially started what we now know as American literature.  Was the attention span of prior generations so small that they clearly forgot this fact for hundreds of years?

            What I find most intriguing about Bradstreet’s poetry is the genuine honesty and emotion that is present throughout her writing.  In “The Author to Her Book”, Bradstreet laments the fact that some of her work was published without her permission.  If one did not know the true circumstances, it would be quite easy to mistake the topic for that of a child rather than writing, which shows the reader how much she truly cared about her work.  The love that Bradstreet had for her poetry, as well as her protective nature of it, is both interesting and, as time would inevitably prove, warranted.  Due to the scrutiny that society would have regarding women’s writing, Bradstreet was right in regretting the publication of her work for all eyes to see and judge.  Thankfully, though, society has progressed, and we can now see Bradstreet’s poetry for what it is: timeless.