Sara Teasdale – The Collected Poems of Sara Teasdale

A poorly child, the young Sara was taught at home in St. Louis, Missouri, until she was aged nine and deemed well enough to be educated in school. An introvert, her childhood home and quarters were designed to ensure privacy and solitude. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Sara had demonstrated an affinity for English verse and soon began to write her earliest poems.

The five collections which comprise this anthology were published between 1907 and 1920; these were the years in which Sara Teasdale, as a young woman brimming with creative talent, authored her finest works. She won prizes for her poetry, and had soon gained national renown with her collections proving to be popular and much-endeared to the American public.

Teasdale’s marriage in 1914 to the businessman Ernst Filsinger would prove unhappy, as he was often away from home working. Although financially secure, Teasdale felt increasingly lonely without her spouse, and her depression culminated in the divorce she filed in 1929. Moving back near to her old residence in Central Park, Teasdale found her other suitor – Vachel Lindsay – to be married with children, but the pair again became friends. However, Lindsay suddenly committed suicide in 1931.

Tragically, Sara Teasdale would also commit suicide in 1933, overdosing on sleeping pills at the age of forty-eight. Her gift for expressive verse and lyrics however left a sizable legacy; she went on to inspire many poets who followed, and her work continues to be translated and published in multiple languages.