John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead Haverhill, MA

I know that last time I said I was going to Robert Frost's Farm up in Derry, NH, but my aunt, and fellow literary lover, saw an article in the AAA Newsletter that did a lovely little spread about the poet John Greenleaf Whittier. So we opted on July 16th, to go to his birthplace in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It was there that we discovered the most animated tour guide I have ever seen, Gus. Gus knew everything there was to know about John Greenleaf Whittier and because of this, kept us 4 hours! It was almost like getting our own personal tour. It was phenomenal that his thirst for knowledge is still so vast. He was a wonderfully, spirited tour guide.

John Greenleaf Whittier was a Quaker, poet and abolitionist. His family settled in the town of Haverhill, MA in the 1600's. He was a famous poet during his lifetime. He was the son of a farmer, John Whittier and Abigail Hussey. He hated farming and would rather read poetry by Robert Burns. The book of poetry from which he read almost daily is still in the home.

He attended a one room school house for most of his education and went off to high school on a scholarship spurred by one of his poems that his sister sent to be published, "The Exile's Departure". William Lloyd Garrison was the publisher of his first poem. To raise additonal funds to continue with school, he became a shoemaker. He completed his high school education in only two years.

After completing high school, he wrote articles for the National Philanthropist and other magazines and papers of the time. He was a staunch abolitionist and political critic. He was for women's equal rights and encouraged many female authors to continue writing. Two of them being Lucy Larcom and Louisa May Alcott.

In 1866 he wrote his most famous poem, "Snow Bound". It catapulted him to stardom and soon was compared to Longfellow's poem, "The Song of  Hiawatha".



He died on September 7, 1892 in Hampton Falls, NH and is buried in Amesbury, MA.

The house has many of the artifacts that it had when Whittier lived. Much of the furniture that has survived is in impeccable shape for being almost 150-200 years old. It is a remarkable tribute to the past that I hope survives for generations to come.

Welcome to Literary Destinations

Tonight was an amazing night. Roaming the streets of Boston is one of my favorite things to do. Especially when it is in upscale Beacon Hill, where buildings seem as though they were just put together by a giant kid with brick legos. It is just beautiful!

But what, do you say, does that have to do with Literature? Well, it has a lot to do with literature. One of the country's most prolific authors lived on 20 Pinckney Street in Beacon Hill. Her name just happens to be Louisa May Alcott. She was the author who wrote "Little Women", "Jo's Boys", "Rose in Bloom" and many other short stories and novels.

She was born in Pennsylvania but as a child moved to Boston because her father acquired a teaching job in Boston. Her father, Bronson Alcott was a philosopher and hung out with the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne and Fuller. He was a staunch abolitionist and this made many people in the Boston School System unappreciative of his teaching skills.

I stood outside her house today with my Jo March haircut. Although one isn't able to tour her childhood home where her family rented out a small apartment, you can stand outside and loiter (much like I did), and then take a snap shot of myself in front of the door. I had one of the passersby do it. It's pretty hard to take your own picture in front of someone's house.

The majority of her life was spend in Concord, Massachusetts at the Orchard House where much of her novels were based on. She was an avid runner, as well as writer. She did not want to be controlled by any man at all and her character, Jo March, except for the marriage part, is mostly autobiographical. I haven't been there yet, but as you may know, it is on my list of destinations for the summer!

Upon reading the sign outside of the old residence where she used to live, I realized that the place she lived in until her death was on the very next street. So obviously, because I am an adventurist, and a little bit of a loitering weirdo, I decided to go to the place where she died. Talk about the grandeur of being a popular writer, the place where she died was so much larger than her small apartment on Pinckney Street. She died on March 6, 1888  at 10 Louisburg Square also of Beacon Hill. She moved up in the world.

And after this, I walked down Charles Street. Looked in the many different little shops and their trinkets until I reached Boston Common. I walked through the grass listening to the small jazz quartet in the park, thinking that all I had to do to make this night better would be to hook up with my fiance to see this movie. Unfortunately, my fiance is at work. However, I don't think he would have been too impressed to see the movie, "Midnight in Paris" and hear my guffawing through it as well. How I wish I could drop back in time to visit Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Stein. I love that time period! I was envious of the characters.  It was the most perfect way to end the night. In an hour or two, it will be even more perfect, when Emil comes home.

Tomorrow, I am going to see Frost's house in Derry, NH! More tomorrow!