Mary Ashley Townsend

Mary Ashley Townsend (1836- June 7, 1901) was an American poet and writer.

She was born in Lyons, New York in 1836^[1](some sources say 1832)^[2] Her maiden name was Van Voorhis. She was educated in her native town and married Gideon Townsend, of New Orleans, Louisiana.

She began to write for publication about 1856, and under the pen-name of "Xariffa" made a reputation as the author of "Quillotypes," a series of humorous papers that appeared in the New Orleans "Delta" and were widely copied by the southern and western press. Her other works are "The Brother Clerks" (New York, 1859); "Poems" (Philadelphia, 1870); "The Captain's Story" (1874); and "Down the Bayou, and other Poems" (Boston, 1884). Her most important short poems are "Creed," which was copied in newspapers in England as well as the US^[1] "A Woman's Wish," "The Bather," and "The Wind."

She was officially appointed to deliver the poem on the opening of the New Orleans exposition in 1884, and that at the unveiling of the statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston in 1887.

She was the first American invited to join the "Liceo Hidalgo," a prestigious Mexican literary club.^[1]

Critical reception

Her work gained "high critical acclaim in the 1870's and 1880's."^[3] By 1916, fifteen years after her death, her article in "A history of American literature" said "Her humorous sketches in prose are forgotten, but her mildly sentimental poems hold for her a place in the anthologies."^[2] "The history of southern women's literature" (2002) said her work had freshness and genuineness in dealing with traditional subjects.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} [1] Rutherford, Mildred Lewis, "The South in history and literature," The Franklin-Turner Company, Atlanta GA., 1907. Retrieved September 18, 2011
2. ^ ^{a b} [2] Cairns, William B., A history of American literature,"Oxford University Press, 1916, page 436. Retrieved September 18, 2011
3. ^ [3] Carter, Hodding "The past as prelude: New Orleans 1718-1968," Firebird Press, 2009, page 182. ISBN 978-1589806818. Retrieved September 18, 2011
4. ^ [4] Perry, Carolyn and Weaks, Mary Louise, "The history of southern women's literature," Louisiana State Univ Press, 2002, pages 199-200. ISBN 978-0807127537. Retrieved September 18, 2011

External links

• Selected Townsend poems
• Works by Mary Ashley Townsend at Project Gutenberg

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.

Persondata
Name	Townsend, Mary Ashley
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Short description
Date of birth	1836
Place of birth
Date of death	1901
Place of death