This volume presents poems found in Godey's Lady's Book or the American Ladies' magazine between the years 1828 and 1881. It differs from the related volume of Godey's mourning poetry in that here the emphasis is on the nature of death, the contemplation of death, the mystery of death. Many, particularly those written about facing death, are quite moving; a few are graphic reminders of the stark reality of death. Most have not been republished in this century until now. Nineteenth century poetry is notorious for its emphasis on death and mourning. This is understandable in a society plagued by a high rate of infant mortality, death in childbirth, and epidemics such as cholera and yellow fever and that seemed to come from nowhere and kill indiscriminately. Illnesses like tuberculosis (called consumption), pneumonia, and other infectious diseases now largely eradicated claimed many lives in a time when scientific medicine was in its infancy and the germ theory of disease was controversial. As people clustered more closely together in cities rates of infectious disease increased, but the causes for this were not always understood. Many deaths seemed random and inexplicable; to make sense of what seemed senseless, people often attributed deaths, especially of children, to God's will. He chose the fairest, it was said, for himself. There are many poems on death in the pages of Godey's. People wrote to and about loved ones who had died, they wrote in anticipation of, or imagining, their own deaths, and they frequently wrote about where they wanted to be buried. For many, death was seen as a constant and unpredictable companion, ready to strike at any time. Godey's Lady's Book, begun in 1830 and edited after 1836 by Sarah Josepha Hale, was one of the most popular magazines in nineteenth century America reaching every state and territory. Reading its poetry, authored by both amateurs and professionals, allows us to share in the emotional and intellectual experiences of these Americans in a unique way.
About the Author: Deborah L Halliday, M.A., Ed.D., first became interested in Godey's poetry in the 1980s while she was working on a masters degree in American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She began collecting bound volumes of the magazine and today has a collection that includes almost the entire run of Godey's and of Hale's earlier publication, the Ladies' Magazine. This volume of Godey's poetry is the result of her many hours spent page turning, reading, and prospecting for forgotten poems in the books' old dusty pages. She thinks it was worth it.