Anne C. Lynch Botta
Anne C. Lynch Botta was an influential American poet, educator, and literary hostess born in Bennington, Vermont, in the early nineteenth century. The daughter of an Irish rebel and a descendant of a Revolutionary War colonel, she received a strong education and began her career teaching in private homes in Rhode Island. Lynch Botta's residence became a vibrant cultural hub, attracting notable figures in literature and the arts. In 1841, she edited and published *The Rhode Island Book*, showcasing state authors, and by 1849 her poetry was well-received, leading to multiple editions of her collected works.
Relocating to New York in 1845, she continued to foster intellectual gatherings, hosting prominent writers and thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller. Her marriage to philosopher Vincenzo Botta in 1855 further expanded her role as a patron of the arts. Beyond her poetry, she authored memoirs and is best known for *A Handbook of Universal Literature* (1885), which serves as both a historical and critical examination of literature. Lynch Botta's contributions to literature and her ability to foster a creative community have left a lasting impact, reflecting her dedication to art and education.
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Anne C. Lynch Botta
- Born: November 11, 1815
- Birthplace: Bennington, Vermont
- Died: March 23, 1891
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
The daughter of Patrick Lynch, an Irish rebel repatriated to American soil, and Charlotte Gray, the daughter of a revolutionary war colonel, Anne Charlotte Lynch was born in the second decade of the nineteenth century in Bennington, Vermont. Despite her father’s early death, she was provided a good education at the Albany Female Academy in New York. Eventually relocating to Providence, Rhode Island, she taught the children of private families for several years. Lynch’s household soon became not only a school but also a gathering place for learned members of the community. By 1841, she had gathered and edited a collection of writings by state authors titled The Rhode Island Book.
In 1845, Lynch moved to New York to become an English instructor for the Brooklyn Academy for Women. Just as in Providence, her home soon became a locus for intellectual, artistic, and literary life. Her abilities as a skilled hostess brought writers like William Cullen Bryant, Horace Greeley, Margaret Fuller, and Ralph Waldo Emerson regularly to her home. As one would expect from her hospitality and interests, Lynch was herself interested in poetry; she contributed verses to various journals and magazines throughout her years in Providence and New York. In 1849, her collected poems were published and sold well enough to go through three editions. Her poems were often of an elevated, ambitious nature, as indicated in her sonnets, but she also wrote touching poetic portraits of everyday life.
After being granted greater pension funds for her grandfather’s efforts during the Revolutionary War, she was freed to travel abroad. After spending a good deal of time in Europe, in 1855, she married philosopher and arts critic Professor Vincenzo Botta, who helped her continue to host literary salons, gatherings, and parties. Her skills as a hostess and as a patron of the arts continued to outpace her reputation as a writer. So many important painters, musicians, and authors of her day came through her drawing room that she was later able to auction off her memorabilia for charity; in later years, the funds would go to writers who submitted the best essays on the “condition of women” to the French Academy.
In addition to her poetry, Lynch Botta went on to publish her memoirs, which were replete with her firsthand familiarity and personal reminiscences of the most important artists of the day. However, her most notable work is considered to be A Handbook of Universal Literature (1885), a text that was simultaneously a history of literature and a critical study.