John Greenleaf Whittier Selected Poems

A devout Quaker who became a passionate poetic spokesman for the antislavery movement, John Greenleaf Whittier (1807A-92) was one of the most beloved American poets of his era. In the years before the Civil War, he campaigned tirelessly against slavery in poems that include A"Ichabod,A" his famous denunciation of Daniel Webster for his support of the Fugitive Slave Law. In the long poem A"Snow-BoundA" (1866) he created a warm and enthralling portrait of rural life, while such works as A"Barbara FrietchieA" and A"The Barefoot BoyA" have been enduringly popular. This new selection brings together WhittierA's many aspectsA-political, religious, richly descriptiveA-and reaffirms the emotional honesty and depth of his work.

Brenda Wineapple is the author of biographies of Janet Flanner, Gertrude and Leo Stein, and Nathaniel Hawthorne (forthcoming).