“Some Questions for Saint Valentine’s Day” by Amos Russel Wells

Amos Russel Wells (1862โ€“1933) was an American scholar and Christian activist. He authored numerous works, including poetry, essays, young adult fiction and devotional writings.  In this post weโ€™ll read his poem โ€œSome Questions for Saint Valentineโ€™s Day.โ€ You can tell that Wells was a classicist: addressing Cupid rather than the venerable Christian saint and martyr, …

“January” by Helen Hunt Jackson

Helen Hunt Jackson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on 15 October, 1830. A prolific writer, poet, and activist dedicated to the rights of Native Americans, she also happened to be a classmate of anotherโ€”nowadays much more famousโ€”Amherst poet: Emily Dickinson.

“A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 19 January 1809, Edgar Allan Poe is widely recognised as one of the seminal voices of the American literature. Best known as the master of the macabre, his writings are very diverse, including numerous short stories, essays, and poems. Almost two centuries after his death, his Dark Romanticist writings continue …