New England produced some of the best writers in Americican literature. Here is a listing of some of New England's most famous authors and poets including some insight as to who they were and their most notable works. 

 Famous New England Authors and Poets:

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): American essayist, philosopher, and poet

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Emerson graduated from Harvard College, and was often referred to as "The Sage of Concord". He is considered to be the leader of the transcendental movement in New England who’s many poems, essays, and lectures made a lasting impact on 19th century literature and philosophy. Ralph Waldo Emerson offered up new views that changed the way many thought about religion and society. He believed that spirituality was defined by man’s relationship with the intuitive self and Nature. Emerson also advocated women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. You can visit the Emerson Home as well as Emerson's grave at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, both located in Concord, Massachusetts. Famous works by Ralph Waldo Emerson include: Nature (1836), Self Reliance, Prudence, Friendship, (taken from Essays first series, 1841), Essays (second series, 1844), Poems (1846), The Conduct of Life (1860).

 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864): American novelist and short story writer

"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

Nathaniel Hawthorn was born in Salem, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Hawthorn made popular the “short story”. After graduating from Bowdoin college, Hawthorn returned to Salem where he spent most his time alone and writing. During this time, Hawthorn published two American masterpieces, The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851). In both novels, Hawthorn exposes themes of sin, guilt, and punishment on colonial America. During his career Hawthorn also wrote several short stories, travel reviews, and even a campaign biography for President Franklin Pierce. Other works by Nathaniel Hawthorn include Fanshawe (1828), Twice Told Tales (1827), Moses from and Old Manse (1846), The Blithedale Romance (1852), and The Marble Faun (1860).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882): American Educator and Poet

"Thy fate is the common fate of all
Into each life some rain must fall."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine. Longfellow was a graduate from Bowdoin College and was the first American to translate Dante’s Divine Comedy. Longfellow's most famous works include Evangeline (1847), The Song of Hiawatha (1855), and Paul Revere’s Ride (1863). Longfellow was a romantic who weaved love and imagination with the historical events of his time to create epic poems of love, loss, and triumph. Longfellow was also one of the five of the Fireside Poets that included William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Homes, Sr. The Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine where Henry grew up is open to the public. You can also visit the home where Longfellow lived in later years at the Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Other works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow include Voices of the Night (1839), Ballads and Other Poems (1841), The Courtship of Miles Standish and Other Poems  (1858), and The Children’s Hour (1860).

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896): American Writer and Abolitionist

"Friendships are discovered rather than made."

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. Stowe is most renowned for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) which tells the story of a run away slave. This novel became a favorite amongst abolitionist everywhere and would help advance Stowe's future works in support of woman's suffrage, temperance, and the abolition of slavery in America. Harriet Beecher Stowe's house is located in Hartford, Connecticut at Nook Farm. The estate is located located next, another famous New England writer,  Mark Twain. Both homes are open to the public.  Other works by Harriet Beecher Stowe include The Key To Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1853), Dred, The Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856), The Minister’s Wooing (1859), and Old Town Folks (1869).

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862): American Essayist and Naturalist 

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."

Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau graduated from Harvard College and closely followed the teachings of Emerson. Thoreau spent over two years living in a house he built on the shore of Waldon Pond. He worked only enough to live and spent the remainder of his time alone with his studies on nature and society. Thoreau is most famous for his writing of Walden or Life in the Woods (1854). However, throughout his lifetime, Thoreau filled over twenty volumes with essays, poems and other writings describing his life and travels about New England and Canada. Admirer's, nature lovers, conservationists, and ecologists come from all over to visit Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts as well as Thoreau's grave in the Sleepy Hallow Cemetery. Other works by Henry David Thoreau include Excursions (1863), The Maine Woods (1864), Cape Cod (1865), and Poems of Nature (1895).

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886): American Poet and Author

"Forever is composed of nows."

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. Sadly, she  lived most her life in solitude and isolation. Dickinson wrote mainly on the subjects of life, death, and the many wonders of nature. Today, Emily Dickinson is considered to be one of American poetry's most insightful and compassionate poets. However, it wasn't until after her death, that she was recognized and her works became known worldwide. She is often referred to as "The Belle of Amherst". Her home at the Dickinson Homestead is open to the public where one can learn more about her life and works. The works of Emily Dickinson can be found in The Poems of Emily Dickinson (1955), The Letters of Emily Dickinson (1958), and The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson (1981)

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888): American Author

"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship."

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, PA, but grew up and was raised in Concord, Massachusetts. She was a nurse, school teacher, and a successful writer. Alcott wrote of her experiences as a nurse during the civil war, but was most renowned for her book, Little Women (1868), an autobiographical coming of age story. Though she published many novels and essays, her career as a writer was cut short at the age of 56 when she died, two days after her father, from the long term effects of mercury poisoning. She is buried, along with her father, at the Sleepy Hollows Cemetery, in Concord New Hampshire. Other works by Louisa May Alcott include Hospital Sketches (1863), An Old Fashioned Girl (1870), Little Men (1871), and Jo’s Boys (1886). Louisa May Alcott also published A Long Fatal Love Chase and Pauline’s Passion and Punishment under the nom de plume A.M. Barnard.

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