Julia Romana Howe Anagnos (March 12, 1844 – March 10, 1886) was an American poet, daughter of
Samuel Gridley Howe and
Julia Ward Howe.
Early life
Julia Romana Howe was born in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy, to American parents Samuel Gridley Howe and Julia Ward Howe, on their extended wedding trip in Europe. She was christened in Rome by
Theodore Parker
Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...
, her parents' friend from Boston.
Both of her parents were well-known figures in Boston and beyond; her father was an educator who distinguished himself in the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
, while her mother was a writer and suffragist, and wrote ''
The Battle Hymn of the Republic.'' Her younger siblings were also noted in their fields, as writer
Florence Howe Hall, scientist
Henry Marion Howe, writer
Laura E. Richards
Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards (February 27, 1850 – January 14, 1943) was an American writer. She wrote more than 90 books including biographies, poetry, and several for children. One well-known children's poem is her literary nonsense verse " E ...
,
and writer
Maud Howe Elliott. Her uncle was lobbyist
Samuel Ward, and her nephew was writer
Francis Marion Crawford.
Career
Anagnos worked at her father's school,
Perkins School for the Blind, as a teacher. When her husband became the school's director in 1876, she also took on greater responsibilities at the school.
Laura Bridgman
Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (December 21, 1829 – May 24, 1889) was the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, twenty years before the more famous Helen Keller; Laura's friend Anne Sullivan becam ...
, her father's deaf-blind student, took particular interest in young Julia, and they formed a lasting friendship.
In 1884, Anagnos was a founder and president of the Boston Metaphysical Club.
"She walked in a dream always, of beauty and poetry, thinking of strange things," her sister recalled.
Anagnos published a volume of her poetry ''Stray Chords'' (1883), and ''Philosophiæ quæstor = or, Days in Concord'' (1885), a book about
Bronson Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and av ...
's
Concord School of Philosophy
The Concord School of Philosophy was a lyceum-like series of summer lectures and discussions of philosophy in Concord, Massachusetts from 1879 to 1888.
History
Starting the Concord School of Philosophy had long been a goal of founder Amos Brons ...
.
She also translated ''Brief account of the most celebrated diamonds'' (1880) from German.
Personal life
She married her tutor, her father's Greek-born assistant
Michael Anagnos, in 1870. She died in 1886, aged 41 years, in Boston.
mentioned Anagnos's recent death in her valedictory address at Perkins in 1886.
Anagnos Cottage, at Perkins, is named for Julia R. Anagnos.
References
External links
A letter written by Julia Romana Howe to her uncle Samuel Ward, March 1880, in the New York Public Library's Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anagnos, Julia R.
1844 births
1886 deaths
American women poets
People from Boston
American women educators