Lydia Huntley Sigourney (1791–1865) was a popular poet in her time, but today has largely been forgotten. In her poem Iceberg, Sigourney recounts the journey of the steamship “Great Western” from Europe to the USA in 1841, in which the steamship passed through a “fleet” of icebergs. The captain of the Great Western (Captain Hoskins) reported the fleet stretched for approximately 3/4 of a mile, and estimated to be 300 - 400 in number.
Poetry corner: Sargasso Weed by Edmund Clarence Stedman
In 1879, Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833 - 1908) designed a rigid airship inspired by the anatomy of a fish. His airship was never built, by Stedman’s literary works came steadily. Between 1875 and 1892, Stedman had the fortune to travel to the Caribbean. His poem “Sargasso Weed” was inspired by this journey and is as much about the swaths of sargassum that float in the sea as it is a criticism of European and American imperialism in the region.
