Edgar Lee Masters (23 August, 23 1868 – 5 March, 1950) was an attorney, poet and biographer. He is known for his collections of poems, as well as biographies of Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, and Walt Whitman.
Fun Facts about Edgar Lee Masters:
- Edgar Lee Masters was born in Garnett, KS. His father, Hardin Wallace Masters, an attorney, and Emma Jerusha Dexter.
- The family settled in Lewistown, IL where the young Mr. Masters finished high-school and published his first item in the Chicago Daily News under the num de plume Dexter Wallace.
- The culture, life, and landscapes of Lewistown inspired many of his works including a collection of poems called Spoon River Anthology, which is his most famous work.
- The future lawyer was forced to leave college due to financial difficulties. Nevertheless, he started working in his father’s law office, and was admitted to the Illinois bar.
- He moved to Chicago and eventually started his own practice.
- Edgar Lee Masters was married twice and had three children. His daughter Marcia Masters was a published poet, and his son, Hilary Masters, wrote novels and his father’s biography together with his half-brother Hardin.
- In 1920 Mr. Masters moved to New York City, retiring from law to write in the Chelsea Hotel. In 1923 he got divorced from Helen M. Jenkins, and married Ellen Coyne in 1926. She was 30 years younger at the time of the nuptials.
- Mr. Masters published 39 books after Spoon River Anthology, but none were as successful. In fact, it was so successful it was banned in Lewistown, but the decision was later reversed.
- He received several awards, most of them based on his early success, including the Shelley Memorial Award.
- Edgar Lee Masters died penniless in a nursing home in Melrose Park, PA, but is buried in Petersburg, IL.
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Sources:
Edgar Lee Masters: 1868 – 1950 | poets.org
Edgar Lee Masters: 1868—1950 | Poetry Foundation
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Fun Facts Friday: Edgar Lee Masters
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Edgar Lee Masters was an attorney, poet and biographer. He is known for his collections of poems, as well as bios of Mark Twain, Lincoln, and Walt Whitman
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Man of la Book
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