Lucy Larcom = Part 1
Lucy Larcom Part I
- Edward Gerrish Mair 01/05/2004 - Plum Island MA
The rock stars of the nineteenth century were the poets of New England. Among the names you may have heard are Oliver Wendell Holmes (OWH), Ralph Waldo Emerson (RWE), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (HWL), and John Greenleaf Whittier (JGW). Many of these poets published with a gentleman in Boston named James Fields. Fields was the equivalent of a Quincy Jones or a Puff Daddy, publishing popular poetry by his stable of "stars". I suppose you could call me a Whittier groupie. I have found a soulful connection with these 19th century folks - their writing, their interests, the places they lived, and the emotions they express.
Less well known today, but also very popular in their time, were the women poets who hung with this crowd. One was Whittier's own sister Elizabeth Huse Whittier (EHW). Others were Harriet Beecher Stowe (HBS), and Harriet Prescott Spofford (HPS). Another was Lucy Larcom (LL). When Elizabeth Whittier died early in 1865, Lucy Larcom dedicated a book or poetry to her. Lucy may have had an unrequited love for JGW who never married. They remained lifelong friends and literary collaborators.
This 19th century crowd also spent many weeks together in the summer in the White Mountains of NH. Lucy seems to have enjoyed long walks and communion with nature. In September 1998 I climbed Mt. Moosilauke in New Hampshire with Jane Lesley, Chris Hughes, Saul Chadis, Peter Land, Loretta Land, and John Keppler. It was Lucy's favorite Mountain and we climbed it on the anniversary of Whittier's death.
I discovered that John Greenleaf Whittier was my third cousin six times removed some years ago. To my great amazement and joy, I have discovered in the last few days that Lucy Larcom is my fifth cousin four times removed.
In May of 1998 I found an original edition of Lucy's poetry dedicated to Elizabeth Whittier, printed in 1869, and discarded by the Ipswich Library, which I was able to obtain for the princely sum of one US dollar. I was as thrilled by this purchase as any in my life! Lucy's work is not considered very good by modern critics, but I find her work delightful. I have also read her autobiography and her words could be my words if I had lived during the time that she did (1824 - 1893). These verses are not deep or complicated. They are full of references to the local area - Plum Island beaches for example. I will write more about my adventures across time and space with Lucy, but will close now with a few of her own words.
On the Beach
We stroll as children, thou and I,
Upon the sandy beach....
It is a comfort once to be
Like those young hearts again;
To feel, O friend beloved, with thee,
The broad refreshment of the sea,
In weary soul and brain.
The white feet pattering on the sand,
The wings that dip and rise,
The mower's whistle from the land,
And girlhood's laugh, and murmuring strand,
All blend and harmonize.
A Sea Glimpse
High tide, and the year at ebb:
The sea is a dream to-day:
The sky is a gossamer web
of sapphire, and pearl and gray:
A veil over rock and boat;
A breath on the tremulous blue,
Where the dim sails lie afloat,
Or, unaware, slip from view.
Lucy Larcom