Rebekah Carmichael | |
---|---|
Born | 1766? |
Died | 1823 Edinburgh |
Occupation | poet |
Period | 1790–1806 |
Rebekah Carmichael, also spelled Rebecca,[1] later Hay (1766?–1823) was a British poet.
Rebekah Carmichael was most likely born in London and baptized at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields on May 24, 1766,[2] although according to some sources she may have been born and raised in Edinburgh.[1] If she was born in London, her reason of her moving to Scotland is unknown.[2] Her parents died when she was young.[3] In 1793, she married John Hay in Edinburgh, with whom she had four children,[2] including the artist David Ramsay Hay.[2][3]
As a published writer, she was active in the years 1790–1806.[1][4] She appears to have had significant connections in Scotland;[2] in 1787, Robert Burns gave her a book of poetry by Robert Fergusson,[2][4] in which he wrote: "This copy of Ferguson's Poems is presented as a mark of esteem, friendship, and regard to Miss R. Carmichael, poetess".[4] In 1790, she published in Edinburgh a collection of her works under the title Poems,[1][2] signed with her birth name of Carmichael.[4] The book was dedicated to David Stuart Moncreiff[1][2] and was published by subscription;[4] Burns was among the recipients.[2][3] The topics of the poems were varied, ranging from love to musings on nature.[1]
In 1806, she published in a single sheet "Extempore, on seeing Sir William Forbes's Funeral" under her married name.[4]
She died in 1823 and is interred at Edinburgh.[2]
Her poetry was included in such anthologies as Eighteenth Century Women Poets: An Oxford Anthology (1989)[3] and Scottish Poetry, 1730-1830 (2023).[1]