'Acclaimed by Joe Chandler Harris, creator of "Uncle Remus," as the "bright light" of late nineteenth century Southern authors, Maria Howard Weeden’s works provide a rare view into post-Civil War life in Huntsville, Alabama.
A native of Huntsville, Miss Weeden was born in 1846, the youngest child of Dr. William Donalson Weeden and Jane Eliza Brooks Urquhart. Afforded the luxury of plantation life, Miss Weeden would receive a fine education and show an early interest in art. Her artistic ability would play a critical role in the family's well being when the Civil War left them in financial ruin.
Maria Howard Weeden started out as an illustrator of other writers' work but gradually began to illustrate her own poems. Before her death in 1905, she would publish four volumes of poetry and illustrations: Shadows on the Wall (1898), Bandanna Ballads (1899), Songs o f the Old South (1901), and Old Voices (1904). The present volume reproduces the poetry from Miss Weeden’s first three collections. It also includes some of the illustrations and paintings created by this unique artist and poet who signed her works "Howard Weeden."' |
