Helen Maud Merrill (

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, Samantha Spriggins; May 5, 1865 - unknown) was an American

litterateur An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or as ...

and poet from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Her first published poem was in the '' Waterville Sentinel'', in 1882. During the decade of 1882–1892, Merrill contributed numerous poems to the '' St. Nicholas Magazine'', ''Portland Transcript'', the ''Gospel Banner'' and other journals. She also engaged in editorial work.

Biography

Helen Maud Merrill was born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, May 5, 1865. From 1881 to 1887, she lived in

Bucksport, Maine Bucksport is a historical town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,944 at the 2020 census. Bucksport is across the Penobscot River estuary from Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, which replaced the Waldo–H ...

. Delicate in her childhood, she was cared for by her mother. In 1889, Merrill removed to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. There, she soon became connected with several literary associations. Early on, she showed a talent for composition, and from 1882, she was a contributor, both in prose and verse, to the newspaper press. Her humorous sketches over the pen name "Samantha Spriggins" had extensive reading. In 1885, she wrote a poem on the death of Gen.

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, which was forwarded to his widow, and a grateful acknowledgment was received by the author in return. Her memorial

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

s and songs written for the anniversaries of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

were appreciated. In ''Poets of Maine'', she received honorable mention, and "The Angel in the Stone" was selected for insertion as a demonstration of her versification style.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Helen Maud 1865 births Year of death unknown 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers Writers from Portland, Maine Writers from Bangor, Maine Pseudonymous women writers American editors Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century