Anna C. Brackett (1826-1911)
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Brackett was an educator, philosopher and activist for the rights of girls to obtain higher education. In 1874, she published The Education of American Girls, which argued that women should be taught to think conceptually as well as practically; to excel outside the home, an important step for them to become better citizens, they should be trained in abstract thinking. In 1872, she and her domestic partner, Ida Eliot, moved to New York City and adopted two children. In 1875, she started the Bracket School for Girls in New York City. More detail about her life can be found on Wikipedia.com.
She wrote books on Shakespeare and the philosopher Georg W. F. Hegel, among others. She and Eliot co-edited a wonderful anthology of poetry, compiled for use in schools. I don’t believe she ever compiled a book of her own poetry, and I don’t know how many poems she wrote in her lifetime, but in 1877, New England Magazine published her wonderful poem, “Sunrise on Mount Washington.” Anyone who has climbed Mt. Washington can certainly sympathize with her lines “O God! have pity. Is there, then no rest?/ Must pain as infinite as loving be?”
“Sunrise on Mount Washington”