11Sep
New Hampshire is full of delightful literary surprises. One of them is Sarah Josepha Hale of Newport.
(Bust of Sarah Josepha Hale, outside the Richards Free Library in Newport, NH)
Hale was an author, poet, magazine editor, and activist, born in 1788. Her work had enormous national impact despite the times, when society strictly limited “acceptable” roles for women. But Sarah had brains, passion, and creativity that she refused to hold back. She wasn’t the loudest advocate for the causes she cared about. Instead, Sarah used her pen.
Portrait of Sarah Josepha Hale. Source: Richards Free Library. Painted by James Reid Lambdin.
Her anti-slavery novel “Northwood” preceded “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by more than two decades. She was editor of the prestigious publication “American Ladies Magazine,” with a goal of “educating and enlightening” her female readers. She led many charitable efforts, aimed promoting national unity at a time when the nation was falling apart over slavery. These included the Bunker Hill Monument, George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, and her signature achievement: convincing President Lincoln to create a National Day of Thanksgiving. Yes, you can thank New Hampshire's own Sarah Josepha Hale for that classic American holiday.
(Representation of the letter Hale wrote to President Lincoln, making the case for Thanksgiving)
Hale also published many poems throughout her career, including one you’ve probably sung dozens – if not hundreds – of times: “Mary’s Lamb” which became “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Sarah’s hometown of Newport is understandably proud of her legacy. The local library, the Richards Free Library, has a monument to Hale outside, circled by an assortment of smaller statues reflecting the issues she cared about.
(The pile of books represents Hale's love of literacy, the chained wrists her opposition to slavery)
And Newport honors Hale in another way that I'm sure she would have loved: with a literary award. Every year since 1956, the Richards Free Library has sponsored the Sarah Josepha Hale Award, given to a literary figure with New England connections. I was asked to join the Hale Committee this year, and attended my first meeting and award ceremony in early September. It was such an honor to sit with the other judges, in a room where the walls around us were covered by almost 70 years worth of posters announcing previous winners, including Robert Frost, Russell Banks, Maxine Kumin, Tomie dePaola, Henry Louis Gates, Jill Lepore, Sy Montgomery, and so many other luminaries of our region.
(Me and Monica Wood at the 2024 Hale Award Dinner)
This year’s winner was Maine author Monica Wood, who gave a moving, funny, dynamite speech about the importance of stories and in praise of the librarians who defend our rights to those stories. I’m not allowed to say who’s on the list of nominees for next year…but let’s just say I have a lot of wonderful reading ahead, to get ready for the Hale Award 2025!
*Many thanks to Judith Freeman Clark, for much of the biographical information provided in her article “Gentle Crusader: New Hampshire’s Sarah Josepha Hale,” which is available on the Richards Free Library website. https://richardsfreelib.org/sarah-josepha-hale-1788-1879/
Comments