Sarah Norcliffe Cleghorn (February 4, 1876 – April 4, 1959) was an educator, author, social reformer and poet whose work was associated with the

American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance t ...

literary movement.

Early years

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Cleghorn spent her early childhood in Wisconsin and Minnesota, then moved to Manchester, Vermont after the death of her mother to live with her father's sisters. Although she regularly traveled and was tenured both with the

Brookwood Labor College Brookwood Labor College (1921 to 1937) was a labor college located at 109 Cedar Road in Katonah, New York, United States. Founded as Brookwood School in 1919 and established as a college in 1921, it was the first residential labor college in the co ...

and the Manumit School, Cleghorn is largely associated with Manchester, which was her primary home. She graduated from Burr and Burton Seminary in Manchester, Vermont in 1895 then spent a year at Radcliffe College. During her early years in southern Vermont, Cleghorn came to know

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early 20th century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong educat ...

, who also became a noted writer and educator. The two women maintained a close relationship throughout their lifetimes and collaborated on several books.

Writer and social reformer

Cleghorn's poetry is largely didactic in nature, serving to illustrate

Christian Socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

values and progressive political and social principles. Her early work was published in the ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

The American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...

'', and others. Cleghorn was involved in various reform movements such as anti-

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianis ...

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...

and opposition to capital punishment and lynching. In 1913, she joined

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

. Some of her later work was published in ''

The Masses ''The Masses'' was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the United States from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was ...

'', ''

The Survey Paul Underwood Kellogg (September 30, 1879 – November 1, 1958) was an American journalist and social reformer. He died at 79 in New York on November 1, 1958. Life He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1879. After working as a journalist he mo ...

'', and ''The World Tomorrow''. Her most widely known poem "The Golf Links" is an ironic and satirical look at child labor. It first appeared in F.P.A.'s column in the ''

New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

''.

The golf links lie so near the mill That almost every day The laboring children can look out And see the men at play.

Cleghorn was a Quaker pacifist. She supported

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

and opposed vivisection. She was a vegetarian and condemned animal experiments, fishing and hunting. Her book ''The Seamless Robe: The Religion of Lovingkindness'' advocated

Christian vegetarianism Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a con ...

with compassion and love to both animals and humans. MacNair, Rachel; Zunes, Stephen. (2008). ''Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War''. Praeger. p. 118.

Works and publications

* * * With Dorothy Canfield Fisher * * * * * With Dorothy Canfield Fisher * *

References

External links

*
Inventory of Sarah Norcliffe Cleghorn Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleghorn, Sarah Norcliffe 1876 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women American animal rights activists American Christian socialists American Quakers American vegetarianism activists American women poets Anti-vivisectionists Christian vegetarianism People from Manchester, Vermont Poets from Wisconsin American social reformers