Poems of Passion

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American writer born in 1850. She was a well known early metaphysical teacher who wrote the book “The Heart of New Thought”. She was also acclaimed for her poetry, and this volume, Poems of Passion brought her great fame and notoriety. When originally published, it was considered scandalous by many and her regular publisher turned it down. She writes in it of love affairs with various men, and at least one woman, which was certainly verbotten in those days. However, the uproar over the book turned it into a best seller, and made Ms. Wilcox a famous writer, ensuring her physical comfort.
The book includes the poem “Solitude”, probably her most well known verse. It includes the lines “Laugh, and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone”. Ms. Wilcox died in 1919.