Celia Thaxter in Her Garden, 1892, by Childe HassamCelia Laighton Thaxter (b. June 29, 1835, Portsmouth, New Hampshire - d. August 25, 1894) was an American writer of poetry and stories. Thaxter grew up in the Isles of Shoals, first on White Island, where her father, Thomas Laighton, was lighthouse keeper, and then on Smuttynose and Appledore Islands. When she was sixteen, she married Levi Thaxter and moved to the mainland. Her life with Levi was not harmonious and she missed her islands, and so after 10 years away, she moved back to Appledore Island. Her first published poem, Landlocked, was written during this time on the mainland. Celia became the hostess of her father's hotel, the Appledore House, and welcomed many New England literary and artistic notables to the island and to her parlor, including writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Whittier, Sarah Orne Jewett, and the artist Childe Hassam, who painted several pictures of her. She was present at the time of the infamous murders on Smuttynose Island, about which she wrote the essay. A Memorable Murder.
the kerry christmas carol
Brush the floor and clean the hearth,
And set the fire to keep,
For they might visit us to...[read poem]
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And set the fire to keep,
For they might visit us to...
the shag
"What is that great bird, sister, tell me,
Perched high on the top of the crag?"
"'T i...[read poem]
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Perched high on the top of the crag?"
"'T i...
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