Nineteenth Century American Poets

EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849)

Al Aaraaf by Edgar Allan Poe; Reproduced from the edition of 1829, with a bibliographical note by Thomas Ollive Mabbott

New York: Published for the Facsimile Text Society by Columbia University Press, 1933

Reproduced from the copy in the Aldis collection at Yale University.

Part of the Ernest Leisy collection.

THOMAS HOLLEY CHIVERS (1809-1858)

Life of Poe edited with an introduction by Richard Beale Davis, from the manuscripts in the Henry E. Huntington Library

New York, Dutton, 1952

Part of the Ernest Leisy collection.

LUCY HOOPER (1816-1841)

The lady’s book of flowers and poetry; to which are added, a botanical introduction, a complete floral dictionary; and a chapter on plants in rooms

New York, J.C. Riker, 1842

With ten hand-colored lithographed floral plates. According to William Reese, Stamped with a National Character, #53: “Lucy Hooper, a Brooklyn poet who died at a tragically young age, perfected the formula of the gift book with this work, which first appeared in 1842 and went through numerous editions”. DeGolyer copy with gift inscription: “With kind regards to Miss E. Putnam, / Will she please accept this token of respect, / from her affectionate Friend, / A. Walker. / Auburn 1842.”

CAROLINE MAY (b. 1820?)

The American female poets with biographical and critical notices by Caroline May.

Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1848

JOHN ROLLIN RIDGE (1827-1867)

Poems

San Francisco: H. Payot & Co., 1868

John Rollin Ridge was a member of the Cherokee Nation and is considered the first Native American novelist. After moving to California in 1850, he began to write. He is best known for his novel The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit (1854).

JAMES W. PARINS

John Rollin Ridge: his life & works

Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press; c1991

INA COOLBRITH (1841-1928)

A perfect day and other poems

San Francisco: John H. Carmany & Co., Printers, 1881

Coolbrith was a fixture in the Bay area literary community and the first poet laureate of California.

Josephine DeWitt Rhodehamel

Ina Coolbrith, librarian and laureate of California

[Provo, Utah]: Brigham Young University Press, [1973]

PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR (1872-1906)

Lyrics of lowly life

New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1908

First published in 1896, with an introduction by W.D. Howells. One of the most popular of the African American poet’s books.

Benjamin Brawley (1882-1939)

Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet of his people

Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1936

Part of the John McGinnis collection.

Rufus W. Griswold (1815-1857)

The Female Poets of America

New York: James Miller, 1874

First published in 1844, this anthology went through several editions, here revised by Richard Henry Stoddard (1825-1903). Over 100 poets are included, beginning with Anne Bradstreet. For many of the poets, the biographical head notes are invitations to further research.