According to NPR, Anne Bradstreet can be considered "americas first poet". Daughter of a library steward, Anne received an education from her father who exposed her to the greatest minds through allowing her access to a plethora of literary material at a young age. Though she never went to school, the act of reading sparked a passion for writing within Anne. Her first book was published in London in the year 1650. She married Simon Bradstreet and raised eight children. Though she was born in Northampton,England in the year 1612, she died in 1672 in the New World as a member of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Her poems document her journey to acceptance of this new form of life, relaying the struggles of adjusting to the harsh and demanding environment as an immigrant to the Americas. Her work also spoke to religious and gender conflicts. However, her earlier work has been considered duller in the minds of some readership who found her imitative and unoriginal. True genius was borne as she grew older and became more vulnerable in her writing, allowing her concerns about immortality, her physical pain, and her deep mourning over her grandchildren weave their way into her poetry. These texts are shorter than her earlier works but much more honest and therefore that much more impactful. Overall, Anne Bradstreet's significance can not be understated. Not only because of her keen craft, but because of the story behind the words. She was a woman writing during a pivotal point in history, openly wrestling with all the tensions that were existent during the 17th century. 

Sources: 

“Anne Bradstreet.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anne-bradstreet.