Sarah Leech

Sarah Leech (1809-1830) fue una poeta irlandesa. ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]} Es la única poeta irlandesa tejedora conocida cuya obra fue publicada ^{[ 3 ]} y una de las pocas mujeres de la época cuya poesía fue publicada en el dialecto escocés del Ulster . ^{[ 4 ]}

Sarah Leech nació en la aldea de Ballylennan, en la parroquia de Taughboyne , condado de Donegal, en 1809. Era la hija menor de Thomas Leech, tejedor y agricultor. La familia era protestante , probablemente presbiteriana . A los 3 años, la familia de Leech se vio en apuros económicos cuando su padre murió de pleuresía . La hermana mayor de Leech, que había asistido a la escuela, intentó enseñar a leer a sus hermanos menores, pero tenía muy poco tiempo libre. A los 6 años, Leech asistió a la escuela durante 3 meses. A pesar del miedo a su maestra, aprendió a leer y mostró interés por seguir aprendiendo, convirtiéndose en una ávida lectora de "libros de cuentos". ^{[ 2 ]} A los 12 años, aprendió a escribir y, al mismo tiempo, comenzó a hilar lino para ganarse la vida. Un benefactor local le regaló algunos libros y le impartió instrucción religiosa. Comenzó a componer poemas en 1822, algunos en inglés y otros en escocés del Ulster. Su poema en escocés del Ulster, «Elegía a una anciana locuaz» , circuló localmente y fue leído por un caballero que la visitaba. Intrigado por la sátira de la obra, buscó a Leech, copió sus poemas y los envió al Londonderry Journal para su publicación. ^{[ 1 ]} Este caballero, cuya identidad se desconoce, solo se describe como «un graduado del Trinity College». ^{[ 5 ]}

Leech was written about with great sympathy, focusing on how she was "the female orphan" in newspaper and commentary published about her, pieces about her detailed her piety and poverty. In the only collection of her poetry, Poems on various subjects published in 1828, her editor describes her life spent in "labour, indigence, and obscurity" and how any profits from the work would aid her in her "pilgrimage through life". Leech became lame, and appears to have been suffering from a condition like rheumatoid arthritis.^[1] In 1826 she worried that she was losing her sight, and she was unable to continue to teach or supervise children.^[2] Despite their poverty, the family appears to have retained some semblance of respectability. Leech is depicted in the frontispiece of Poems on various subjects with her spinning wheel, but she is well dressed. It is reported that Leech was deeply ashamed by how her life was described in lowly terms in the Londonderry Journal.^[1]

Leech and her mother moved to near Lettergull in 1822. The farm she lived is still remembered locally and a local family, the Gilfillans, claim to have Leech's spinning wheel as depicted in the frontispiece engraving. The farm is large for the area, over 70 acres. Some believe that Leech's older sister may have married into the Gilfillan family and took in her sister and mother. Religion is a strong theme in her poetry. She voices her support for the Brunswick Clubs in her English poems. The Brunswick Clubs were formed in 1828 to oppose catholic emancipation after the suppression of the Orange Order. She also voiced her distrust of catholic priests, although it is possible she exaggerated these themes to ensure the continued support of the Church of Ireland gentleman who edited her poems before publication.^[1]

Her poems in Ulster Scots do not contain these problematic themes, and have become popular with recent promotion of the Ulster Scots language. Her book of poems was republished by the Ulster-Scots Agency in 2006. Some claim that nothing more is known of Leech after the publication of the volume of her poems in 1828,^[1] but other sources place her death in 1830.^[2] A plaque to Leech was erected on 13 December 2014 on William Street, Raphoe, County Donegal.^[6]

• De las "Memorias biográficas de Sarah Leech", incluidas en Poemas sobre diversos temas , 1828.
• Lecturas de poemas de Leech en BBC Radio Ulster.