John Greenleaf Whittier

William Jolliff, Professor of English at George Fox University, has selected 55 of John Greenleaf Whittier's more than 500 poems with the intention of turning Quaker (and other) readers into Whittier fans. His guiding focus for this edition is "readability by contemporaries." A biographical and critical introduction and the identification of themes in introductions to each section are important guides. William Jolliff's brief introductions to the...

A devout Quaker who became a passionate poetic spokesman for the antislavery movement, John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92) was one of the most beloved American poets of his era. In the years before the Civil War, he campaigned tirelessly against slavery in poems that include "Ichabod," his famous denunciation of Daniel Webster for his support of the Fugitive Slave Law. In the long poem "Snow-Bound" (1866) he created a warm and enthralling portrait of...