Bridgette Hill
Dr. Teat
English 251
13 December 2008
The Life of Alice Cary Alice Cary is a very interesting literary female figure. I had actually never heard of her before. The accomplishments that she achieved during her lifetime were interesting. How she developed herself into the literary genius that she was is truly astonishing. I will review her childhood, her literary works, and her adulthood. Alice Cary was born in Mount Healthy, Ohio on April 26, 1820. She was one of four daughters. Two of her younger siblings died of tuberculosis, the same disease that her mother would die of in 1835. Cary along with her sister, Phoebe, received very minimal schooling from a small country school in their small town. Because they no longer had a mother, they had to stop going shortly after they began going to school. It was important for them to stay home and help their father with the farming and other chores around the house. With no help, literary mentors/guidance, books, or encouragement from their father, the Cary sisters decided that they wanted to be poets. They both sustained and extraordinarily developed their literary talents so that they could become well respected literary figures. Alice Cary had very humble beginnings in the literary field. She first began publishing her works in the western newspapers and journals. Once those began becoming popular, she then moved on to eastern newspapers and journals. In 1850, she then moved to New York City, New York. It was here that Rufus W. Griswold embraced Cary’s works and featured them in his book of collections entitled: Female Poets of America. Cary then started to be known for her inspirational and moral teachings that she protruded through her poetry. Not only was she an inspiration among her literary peers, but an inspiration to everyday people as well—the wives, single mothers, preachers, etc. Among her admirers were Edgar Allen Poe and Whittier. Whittier