Sarah Helen Whitman
Sarah Helen Whitman (1803-1878) was an American poet and essayist from Providence, Rhode Island. Born into a family that faced financial hardship during her childhood, she developed a passion for literature, particularly the works of Lord Byron, which influenced her early writing. In 1828, she married John W. Whitman, a Boston writer who encouraged her literary pursuits, allowing her poetry to be published in various journals. After her husband's death in 1833, she returned to Providence, where she solidified her reputation as a prominent writer in Rhode Island.
Whitman is notably remembered for her connection to Edgar Allan Poe; she anonymously published a love poem to him, which led to a brief engagement that ended due to familial disapproval and Poe's personal struggles. Throughout her life, she explored themes of metaphysics and spiritualism, hosting séances and later adopting a more scientific approach to paranormal claims. A passionate advocate for women's rights, she served as vice president of the Rhode Island suffrage association and contributed to progressive causes. Whitman's legacy includes her poetry collection "Hours of Life" and her posthumously published "Collected Poems," as well as her charitable donations to support children and animal welfare in Rhode Island.
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Sarah Helen Whitman
Poet
- Born: January 19, 1803
- Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island
- Died: June 27, 1878
- Place of death: Providence, Rhode Island
Biography
American poet and essayist Sarah Helen Whitman (née Sarah Helen Power) was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 19, 1803. Her father was a successful merchant, but the War of 1812 bankrupted him; following his capture and subsequent release by the British in the West Indies, he chose to stay away from his family for almost twenty years. Early in life, Whitman became enraptured by novels and verse, especially the poetry of Lord Byron. She was given a typical Quaker education and received instruction in etiquette, posture, and literature. She began writing poetry in school.
She married Boston writer and editor John W. Whitman in 1828. He supported her literary efforts and helped get her poetry published in the Boston Spectator and Ladies’ Album. She began to associate with Boston-area literati and became interested in metaphysics, mesmerism, and Transcendentalism. Her poetry continued to be published in journals such as Ladies’ Magazine, and she also began writing essays and articles on various topics, including scholarly defenses of Romantic and Transcendentalist writers such as Johann Wolfgang van Goethe, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. She returned to Providence after her husband died in 1833 and continued to publish poetry and prose, establishing herself as one of Rhode Island’s preeminent writers.
Whitman is well known for her support for and defense of Edgar Allan Poe. She anonymously published a lighthearted love poem to Poe in the New YorkHome Journal in 1848. Poe discovered the author’s identity and wrote his famous poem “To Helen” in response. Discovering that they had similar literary and spiritual interests, they fell in love and became engaged, but the engagement was broken a month later due to the disapproval of Whitman’s mother and Poe’s unstable life and drinking problem.
Whitman became increasingly interested in spiritualism; she frequently held séances and believed she could communicate with spirits. Later in life, however, she moved away from blind acceptance of such phenomena and became more interested in scientific investigations of paranormal claims. In 1851, she published a series of articles on spiritualism in the New York Tribune. Her poetry collection Hours of Life, and Other Poems came out in 1853. She defended Poe’s literary achievements with the publication of Edgar Poe and His Critics in 1860. She also supported women’s rights, universal suffrage, and progressive education, and in 1868 she became vice president of the Rhode Island suffrage association.
Whitman died in Providence on June 27, 1878. She bequeathed money to the Association for the Benefit of Colored Children and to the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Her collected Poems were published a year after her death.