Pearl Rivers

Pearl Rivers (pen name of Eliza Jane Nicholson; formerly Holbrook; née Poitevent; March 11, 1843 – February 15, 1896) was an American journalist and poet, and the first female editor of a major American newspaper. After being the literary editor of the New Orleans Daily Picayune, Rivers became the owner and publisher in 1876, after her elderly husband died. In 1880, she took over as managing editor, where she continued until her death in 1896.

The introduction of a society column on 16 March 1879, titled the "Society Bee", generated criticism from some readers. One correspondent described it as "shabby", "shoddy", and "shameful" for naming women in a newspaper. By 1890, however, the column had become the largest section of the Sunday edition and was widely imitated by other publications.

Affiliations Rivers became the first president of the National Woman's Press Association in 1884, and became the first honorary member of the New York Women's Press Club.

An example of her early poetry, first published anonymously: Whistling through the corn field,Whistling a merry air,My feet are deep in the pea-vines,And tangles are in my hair.

Old folks say 'tis unluckyFor maidens to whistle; still,Life is a rugged country,And whistling helps uphill.

Talking of her early life in the poem Myself, she introduced the "gossip-loving bee," who gave its name to the Society Bee column: With windows low and narrow too,Where birds came peeping inTo wake me up at early mornAnd oft I used to win

The Cherokees to climb the sill,The gossip loving bee,To come so near that he would pauseAnd buzz a word to me.

Her later blank verse works "Hagar" and "Leah", published in Cosmopolitan in 1893 and 1894, have more depth, giving a powerful sense of the bitterness and jealousy of her heroines.

Her further work, however, was in journalism. Through the use of prose she gave personal commentary on many of the issues of the day. Despite a lack of confidence in her abilities, she was a discerning writer.