Mary E. Brooks

Mary Elizabeth (Aikin) Brooks (November 15, 1803 – February 27, 1895) was an American poet during the American Renaissance. She was born to parents John and Belphine Aikin. Mary had one sister, Sarah Amelia Maria Aiken Hall, who was also an author. Mary was baptized at Christ’s Church in New York on February 5, 1804. She attended school at Troy Female Seminary, the first secondary school for women in the United States, now known as the Emma Willard School.

Mary had other interests and talents outside of writing, including design and drawing. Her brother in law James Hall, created plates in "The Natural History of the State of New York” based on Mary’s drawings of nature. They were a collection of images and descriptions of the natural world in New York including illustrations of landscapes, fossils, and animals done by her and her sister Sarah (Aiken) Hall. Similar to their writing, they left their illustrations unsigned. However, James Hall praised their work in his 1843 volume.

Mary E. Brooks published her poetry under the pen name “Norna” throughout her young adult years. In 1829, she and her husband published a collection of their poems titled, “The Rivals of Este: and other Poems”. The couples’ book was one of the only works Mary put her given name on. Her works previously remained anonymous and mixed together with other poems. “The Rivals of Este” is the poem which gave their book its name, this is a poem that intertwines the themes of love, jealousy, and ambition within the historical context of Renaissance Italy. Some of her other works written under her pen name include “The Craftsman”, “The New York Amulet, Ladies' Chronicles Magazine”, and her husband's “Literary Gazette”. She even used Biblical allusions in her poetry, most notably in her "Hebrew Melodies".

• Brooks, James G.; Brooks, Mary E. (1828). The Rivals of Este: and Other Poems. New York: J. & J. Harper. OCLC 191251360. Retrieved January 20, 2024.