Inspired by Nature

Known as the Quaker Poet, the majority of Whittier's work revolved around around the harsh New England farm life with which he was familiar with. Whittier grew up on the Massachusetts farm of his Quaker family. His first poem, published in a local paper when he was fourteen, attracted the attention of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, who urged the boy to pursue his education. Though the family had long suffered in poverty, Whittier managed to put himself through two years of school at the Haverhill Academy. In his twenties Whittier began editing regional newspapers.…