Longfellow's Birthday

by Sister Angie

God is the perfect poet…I couldn’t agree more with this famous quote by Robert Browning.
"God gave us the gift of words to be able to fellowship with Him and others, but I think most importantly of all, He created language to communicate the story of Jesus, the living Word. "

Throughout the ages, many have artfully strung words together to create what is called poetry. One of America’s famous poets is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His birthday is celebrated February 27th. Born in 1807, he was the second child of eight, born in Portland, Maine. From a very early age, he always knew he wanted to write poetry. His first poem was published in the Portland Gazette when he was only thirteen years of age.

He eventually mastered half a dozen languages and became a professor at Harvard. After leaving teaching he poured his energy into writing. He chronicled American history through poems like The Song of Hiawatha, which was written as a narrative tribute to the Native American Indian and Paul Revere’s Ride which begins,

“Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.”

It is a wonderful telling of this famous event in our history which I would recommend to any young lady studying this period of our country. Later in his career he translated Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

In 1861, his wife, Fanny, was involved in a tragic accident in which her dress suddenly caught fire. In trying to put out the flames, Longfellow suffered burns to his hands and face. His wife eventually died and Longfellow’s long white beard covered the wounds from the incident, but he continued with his work.

Henry Wadsorth Longfellow eventually passed away at his home in Cambridge in 1882, but is acclaimed as one of America’s most famous poets to this day.

In addition to learning about Longfellow, I would like to return to my first thought of God being the perfect poet. I encourage you to read the Psalms if you want to be inspired to write or simply read poetry. Not only will the rhythm be appreciated, but the content is sure to inspire, minister, and encourage your heart.

Sister Angie is her husband’s ' help meet' and mother of two wonderful children. Her life’s mission is to serve and help others by encouraging, exhorting with God’s truth, and interceding on behalf of the saints and the lost. She can be found at Sonflower and as a moderator/contributor at Growing in Grace.