Join us from the comfort of your own home for our virtual lecture series. Whittier Birthplace Virtual Lectures will take place over Zoom. Prior registration is required.
Suggest donation: $10/household
Speakers: Harrison and Linda Hunt
Topic: WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT: FIRESIDE POET, JOURNALIST, CIVIC REFORMER AND
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN
William Cullen Bryant was the eldest and, in many ways, least typical of America’s
Fireside Poets. Born in western Massachusetts in 1794, Bryant earned
recognition as the first major American poet while in his twenties. Over the years
that followed, he won respect as a successful journalist, author and editor. In the
process he became a wealthy man, with homes on Long Island, New York
(Cedarmere), in Cummington, Massachusetts (The Homestead) and in Manhattan.
This PowerPoint talk, researched by the Hunts and narrated by Harrison,
examines Bryant’s multifaceted career, his legacy, and his connections with John
Greenleaf Whittier.
Harrison and Linda Hunt are the authors of William Cullen Bryant’s Cedarmere
Estate, published by Arcadia in 2016. Harrison, who holds a Master’s in History
Museum Studies, supervised the restoration of Cedarmere and as Supervisor of
Historic Sites for the Nassau County (NY) Department of Parks, was its director
from 1994 until his retirement in 2008. Linda, who has a Master’s in Library
Science and a Certificate in Archives, was the lead staff member at Cedarmere
prior to her marriage to Harrison. Both have spent years studying William Cullen
Bryant and his family.