poetry

Weeden House Museum – Huntsville, Alabama

I throughly enjoyed my visit to the Weeden House Museum.  There are a lot of interesting things to see and the tour guide did a fabulous job.

The Weeden House was built in 1819, by H.C. Bradford.  The intricate woodwork and the federal architectural style is stunning.  The Weeden family owned the home from 1845 to 1956.

Maria Howard Weeden (1846-1905) lived in this house her entire life.  She was a poet and an artist.  Maira was particularly interested in the lives of the black people she encountered on a regular basis.  She was bothered by the way they were treated and wanted to give them a voice in the world.

Maria Howard Weeden painted realistic portraits of the black people, instead of the cartoonish images that were popular during the Reconstruction period.

Maria also spent hours talking to the black people she painted, so she could learn their life stories.

Maria used poetry to expose the horrible circumstances of their lives.  The rhythm and cadence reflected the positive personalities of the people, in spite of their lifelong suffering.

Maria Howard Weeden was truly a woman ahead of her time.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was a great and prolific writer.  She was also extremely introverted and a recluse.  Today she would probably be diagnosed as agoraphobic.

This is my favorite poem by Emily Dickinson.

I’m Nobody

I’m nobody!  Who are you?

Are you nobody too?

Then There’s a pair of us – don’t tell!

They’d banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!

How public like a frog

To tell you name the live long day

To an admiring bog!