Poetry of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (October Semi-Colon Club)

Abolitionist, teacher, social reformer, poet, and writer Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born in Baltimore also but had significant Ohio connections. Educated at her uncle’s school where she learned Bible, literature, and public speaking, she taught at Union Seminary in Columbus from 1850 to 1854. After moving to Pennsylvania and lecturing on a national circuit, she married Fenton Harper in Cincinnati in 1860, bought a farm, and gave birth to her daughter Mary. After the Civil War and death of her husband, Harper toured the South where she saw appalling injustices. She then joined the Christian Women’s Temperance Union and the American Women’s Suffrage Association and co-founded the National Association of Colored Women.
Her influential 1883 World’s Fair speech “Women’s Political Future” deserves study by contemporary audiences. For Semicolon Club, we’ll look at this speech, her influential abolitionist poem “Bury me in a Free Land” and her nine poems selected by the Poetry Foundation, including one based on Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. We will also talk about chapters 11, 12, 31 and 32 of Harper’s novel Iola Leroy. Links for all material are provided.
Selected Readings:

• Short biography and selected poems from Poetry Foundation:

• • "Bible Defense of Slavery"
  • "A Double Standard"
  • "Eliza Harris"
  • "Learning to Read"
  • "Let the Light Enter"
  • "Lines"
  • "The Slave Auction"
  • "The Slave Mother"
  • "Songs for the People"
• Harper, Frances E.W., "Woman's Political Future," speech before the World's Congress of Representative Women, Chicago, 1893.
• , chapters 11, 12, 31, and 32.

About the Discussion Facilitator:

Dr. Cheli Reutter is professor in the Department of English at the University of Cincinnati. Her research and education focus on American and African American literature, medical humanities, and disability literature. Dr. Reutter has also been a member of the Board of the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House for several years.

What is the Semi-Colon Club?

The Semi-Colon Club was a literary discussion group Harriet joined while living in Cincinnati. Our Semi-Colon Club discusses the issues that make up Harriet’s legacy--from the 19th century until the present day. All discussions are open to the public.

To catch up on any conversations you may have missed, check out our YouTube channel HERE .

​Many thanks to series sponsor Donna Salyers Fabulous Furs.

Host or Publisher Harriet Beecher Stowe House