Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most widely known and best-loved American poet of his lifetime. Paul Revere’s Ride is actually an abolitionist’s call-to-arms in the North as South Carolina seceded from the United States. The Rainy Day was written after the death of his first wife as he wrestled with grief and penned the line, “Into each life some rain must fall . . .” Join us as we discuss Evangeline, which is about loss of country and love, and The Building of the Ship, which, over 170 years later, still expresses Longfellow's hope for the United States.