The American poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), known as "the Quaker poet," was born on December 17, 1807, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. His hardworking Quaker parents barely made a living from the rocky soil of their farm. Greenleaf, as he was called, was needed to help on the farm, and he could only attend school during the winter.
His interest in writing came from reading Robert Burns's poems. He began to publish verses in local newspapers, and he was encouraged to get more education. In 1827 he entered Haverhill Academy, making shoes and teaching school to pay for his education. He later left to work as a newspaper editor in Boston and then in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1829 to 1832. He published his first book, Legends of New England, in 1832.
In 1833, Whittier joined a small band of reformers, called abolitionists, who wanted to free the slaves. For the next 20 years, he wrote anti-slavery poems, spoke at public meetings, and worked with politicians to change the laws. He was laughed at, and once his office was burned down. But he persisted and helped to awaken Americans to the shame of slavery.
Not all of Whittier's writing was about abolition. In the 1850's he began to write poems such as "Telling the Bees," which reworked a folk superstition. "Barbara Frietchie" inspired people weary of the Civil War. It told of an old woman who bravely defended the Union flag against Confederate invaders. In 1866, Whittier published Snow-bound, an affection-ate tribute to his family and a realistic picture of farm life in early New England. This poem made Whittier famous.
Whittier died in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, on September 7, 1892. His life followed the advice he once gave a boy: "My lad, if thou wouldst win success, join thyself to some unpopular but noble cause."
