Phoebe Cary

Phoebe Cary (September 4, 1824 - July 31, 1871) was an American poet, and the younger sister of poet Alice Cary (1820-1871). The sisters co-published poems in 1849, and then each went on to publish volumes of her own. After their deaths in 1871, joint anthologies of the sisters' unpublished poems were also compiled.

Biography

Phoebe Cary was born on September 4, 1824, [Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. "The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States". New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 297. ISBN 0195031865] in Mount Healthy, Ohio near Cincinnati, and she and her sister Alice were raised on the Clovernook farm in North College Hill, Ohio.Kane, Paul. "Poetry of the American Renaissance". New York: George Braziller, 1995: 297. ISBN 0-8076-1398-3] While she and her sister were raised in a Universalist household and held political and religious views that were liberal and reformist, they often attended Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist services and were friendly with ministers of all these denominations and others.June Edwards. " [http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/carysisters.html The Cary Sisters] ". Accessed Nov. 29, 2007.]

While they occasionally attended school, the sisters were often needed to work at home and so were largely self-educated. More outgoing than her sister, Phoebe was a champion of women's rights and for a short time edited "The Revolution", a newspaper published by Susan B. Anthony. In 1848, their poetry was published in the anthology "Female Poets of America" edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold and, with his help, "Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary" was published in 1849.

The sisters' anthology garnered much acclaim, and in 1850 they moved to New York City. There, they often hosted evening receptions on Sundays, some of which were attended by well-known figures such as P. T. Barnum, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. While in New York, Phoebe published two volumes of exclusively her own poetry: "Poems and Parodies" and "Poems of Faith, Hope, and Love". Additionally, her lyrics appeared in many church hymnals, on Sunday School cards, and in household scrapbooks. One of her hymns, "Nearer Home," was often sung at funerals, including Alice's and her own. Alice died in 1871 from tuberculosis; Phoebe died five months later of hepatitis on July 31, 1871, in Newport, Rhode Island. [Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. "The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States". New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 69. ISBN 0195031865] Her burial was in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

Works

*"Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary" (1849)
*"Poems and Parodies" (Ticknor, Reed & Fields, Boston 1854)
*"Poems of Faith, Hope, and Love" (1867)
*"A Memorial of Alice and Phoebe Cary With Some of Their Later Poems", compiled and edited by Mary Clemmer Ames (1873)
*"The Last Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary", compiled and edited by Mary Clemmer Ames (1873)
*"Ballads for Little Folk" by Alice and Phoebe Cary, compiled and edited by Mary Clemmer Ames (1873)

As editor and compiler:
*"Hymns for all Christians" (1869, compiled by Charles Force Deems and Phoebe Cary)

Note: In early volumes, "Cary" was spelled "Carey" in and on Phoebe and Alice Cary's books, and later editions and volumes changed the spelling to "Cary."

References

External links

* [http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poet/58.html Selected Poetry of Phoebe Cary]
* [http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/cary.html Early Nineteenth Century: Alice Cary and Phoebe Cary]
* [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/c/a/r/cary_p.htm Cyber Hymnal: Phoebe Cary]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=cary&GSfn=phoebe&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=7686533& Phoebe Cary at Find-a-grave.com]
* [http://www.cincinnatimemory.org/gsdl/collect/greaterc/archives/HASH01c4/f0c1caab.dir/ocp001525pccpc.jpgCary Cottage]