Fanny Crosby

In late ninteenth-century America, Fanny Crosby stands as an interesting figure in the area of religion and bodily images. In an accident at a young age, she became legally blind (she was able to discern light or dark and large shapes). She nevertheless became a signficant figure in American poetry and hymn-writing. In an age when Methodism was following much of the religious world in the transition to classic liberalism, she affirmed traditional doctrine. At the same time, she was part of wide trend in which women asserted authority to teach men, based on a divine call. Thus, it is not a surprise that many of her poems and hymns contain significant bodily images.

My first proposal for a dissertation would have covered her use of visual images in hymns and poetry. This project foundered when it turned out that most of Crosby's unpublished material was in inaccessible locations. I still intend to return to it, at least to deal with published material, as I can.

Sites with significant information about Crosby:

• "Fanny Crosby American hymn writer and poetess" at the New York Institute for Special Education, successor to the New York Institution for the Blind, the school where she studied and taught.
• A biography at The Cyber Hymnal that includes a partial list of pen names and hymns.
• Pilgrim New Media's search page that will query major search engines.