Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch


Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch is a book of poetry edited by Emmeline B. Wells and illustrated by Edna Wells Sloan. Several copies, with hand-painted illustrations, were exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in the Women's Building Library and the Utah Building. Utah women poets wrote the book's thirty-four poems, which focused on Utah's landscape and Mormon theology. Reviews when the book came out focused on the book itself as an art object. Mormon historians see the book as Utah women's attempt to assimilate to cultural expectations of citizens of the United States of America.

Publication

The compilation of poetry by Utah women was created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Church History entry for Alice Smith Merrill lists her as the publisher for Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch. Wells mentioned three hand-painted copies of the book in her journal. Two of these initial three were on display at the World's Fair in the Woman's Building Library and in the Utah Building. Wells's copy currently resides in the BYU Library special collections and the Church History Library archives. It is possible that a third copy was on display as well: Wells's "Memoranda" refers to copies displayed in the Woman's building, in the Utah Building, and a third in the Liberal Arts in the Woman's Building. She wrote that Margaret Blaine Salisbury and Emily S. Richards received the other two copies. In her journal entry for June 8, 1893, she said that she "found the 2 copies of Poems Edna had left for me" and that she took one to use in the Liberal Arts building. Later on June 12, she reported going "to see about the book for Liberal Arts building". It is unclear if she left a copy there; her journal entry states that the director of the Woman's Department in the Liberal Arts Building instructed her to leave it in the organization room in the Women's building.
The Relief Society minutes from 1904 mention that more copies of the book were made in 1897. They planned to create covers for 25 of these for the National Council of Women's literature exhibit in St. Louis. The Church History Library has a copy that does not have the illustrations. Wells reported giving a copy to "Miss Baker" on July 20, 1908.

Contents

In her dissertation chapter on Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch, Jennifer Reeder, a women's history specialist at the LDS Church History Department wrote that the hand-painted watercolors of flowers and nature scenes that accompanied sentimental poetry appear at first like many other poetry compilations of the Victorian era. Unlike other poetry compilations, however, the content in Songs and Flowers draws on Utah's landscapes and Mormon theology. The book includes poems by many LDS women, including Ruth May Fox, Lucinda Lee Dalton, Augusta Joyce Crocheron, Lula Greene Richards, Julia McDonald, Ellis Reynolds Shipp, and Josephine Spencer. The words to the hymn "O My Father" by Eliza R. Snow are included as the first poem. In this popular poem, Snow put the idea of Heavenly parents, including Heavenly Mother, into words. A Catholic woman, Ruby Lamont, wrote "Sonnets on the Virgin Mary".

Reception

Reviews of the book focused on its physical and design aspects and came from people in Utah. Writing for the Salt Lake Herald, Alice S.M. wrote that it was a "handsome book". Also at the Herald, Frances praised the book's thick paper and "unique designs", writing that "our home publishers may well be proud of the excellent work shown in the printing and binding of the volume". The Woman's Exponent, edited by Wells, called the book "something to be proud of" and having a "beautiful appearance".

Analyses

Reeder wrote that the book "represented a pivotal, concerted shift away from institutional Mormon history toward a non-denominational, socially-accepted American cultural and religious heritage". According to Reid Neilson, former managing director of the LDS Church History Department, "Utah women hoped that visitors to the Utah Building, after perusing their poems, might reevaluate the refinement and sophistication of not only Utah, but also its fair daughters, heretofore viewed as subjected women and sexual slaves in a polygamous society". Neilson called the book's 34 poems "largely secular".

Works cited

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