University of Virginia Library

“Whether poetry be defined as the rhythmical creation of beauty, as passion or eloquence
in harmonious numbers, or as thought and feeling manifested by processes of
the imagination, Alice Carey is incontestably and incomparably the first living American
poetess—fresh, indigenous, national—rich beyond precedent in suitable and sensuous imagery—of
the finest and highest qualities of feeling, and such powers of creation as the
Almighty has seen fit to bestow but rarely or in far-separated countries.... The forms
of her imagination are clothed with spoils she herself has brought' from the fields.—The
feelings displayed in her poems are in an eminent degree fruits of her own experience.
In all literature there is nothing in every respect more certainly genuine..... It may easily
be inferred from many of her compositions who are her favorite poets—especially
that Chaucer and Milton are lovingly studied by her; but it is impossible to deny that
she has original and extraordinary powers, or that the elements of genius are poured
forth in her verses with an astonishing richness and prodigality”

“Some of these poems are truly great. Miss Carey is among the best of living poets,
There are startling intimations of power, low, vague murmurings of a magic voice,
everywhere to be detected, which leave the impression of genius undeveloped, and yet
to shine forth. A deep, mellow feeling, the chords of which are susceptible of heavenly
music, a power and sweetness of versification, and a familiar touch of those transcendent
truths to which genius alone has access, are qualities of the true poet. We feel
the spell the moment we enter the sphere of her thought.”

“Miss Carey possesses a lively and delicate fancy; her mind teems with rural images,
which have been suggested by a genuine passion for nature; she avails herself
with spontaneous facility, of the everyday sights and sounds of the country for the
purposes of poetry; throwing the charm of a graceful ideality over the homeliest details
of household life; her verse flows in a vein of pure and tender sentiment; while
she possesses a sufficient variety and strength of expression to do justice to her highest
inspirations. In sweetness, in pathos, in tenderness, in the simple melody of versification,
she will compare favorably with Mrs. Browning, or with any other living poetess.
She is always calm, reverent, and subdued.”

“These are the sweetest and most beautiful poems we have ever read. When once
taken up the volume must be finished. There is something so charmingly rich, so
delightfully enchanting, yet so simple and natural in its contents, that they take right
hold of the mind and heart and leave an impression for ever. Alice Carey is no common
author. Whatever she writes, in prose or poetry, contains so many strong points of
originality, of real genius, of well-cultivated and fertile imagination, that it may be justly
said she writes for immortality. She is a jewel in the casket of American literature, that
dims the lustre of the most precious in that of any other nation.”

“The author holds an honorable place in the front rank of our poets, and both here
and in Europe is esteemed one of the sweetest and most pathetic and tender living
writers. In many of these poems we find instances of the most exquisite versification,
combined frequently with descriptive powers that successfully rival Bryant in his own
realm, and distance every other writer among us. Indeed, there is scarcely a poem in
this collection that does not sparkle with pure gems.”

“The genuine inspiration of poetic feeling,... replete with tenderness and beauty,
earnestness and truthful simplicity, and all the attributes of a powerful imagination and
vivid fancy. We know of no superior to Miss Carey among the female authors of this
country.”

“To say that Alice Carey is `what Milton would have been, had Milton been a woman,'
we can not regard as extravagant praise. Her poems have little in common
with the mass of verses by her sex. She has the strength of the old masters of song,
with all the sweetness of a woman. She has a wealth of imagery and a felicity in the
description of nature rarely met.”

“Alice Carey's book is full of beautiful thoughts; there is draught after draught of
pure pleasure for the lover of sweet, tender fancies, and imagery which captivates,
while it enforces truth. It is difficult to read Miss Carey's poems without being drawn
toward her, and thinking that those must be happy who are loved by her; and this is
one reason why we call her poems feminine.”

“ `Lyra and other Poems,' just published by Redfield, attracts everywhere, a remarkable
degree of attention. A dozen of the leading journals, and many eminent critics,
have pronounced the authoress the greatest poetess living.”