Skip to Main Content

American Literature: The Colonial and Early National Period: Bradstreet

A research topic guide on colonial and early national American literature.

Ann Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet (1612/13 - 1672) was an American author and poet. She was the first female poet in the American colonies. 

Research & Reference

Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet was the first female poet in the American colonies. She wrote from and about the female sphere, and she remains one of the only known female writers from the 17th century.

Source: Films on Demand

Author's Works & Perspectives

The Poems of Mrs. Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) Together with Her Prose Remains;

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

Critical Essays on Anne Bradstreet

From the introduction: "Like many writers, Anne Bradstreet pictured her ideal audience. Her imagination sketched no coterie of flatterers, but rather a modest group of family and friends, as if she preferred keeping her poems near home...But even if we discount part of this modesty as convention, Bradstreet approached a larger (and less familiar) audience cautiously, avoiding risks rather than seeking glory. Her timidity was misguided...."