Fun Facts Friday: Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters (23 August, 1868 –5 March, 1950) was an American biographer, dramatist and poet.

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70945

Books by Edgar Lee Masters*

1)      Born in Garnett, KS, Mr. Masters’ family moved to Lewistown, IL when he was 12.

2)      The first time Mr. Masters was published was in high school, in the Chicago Daily News.

3)      Mr. Masters’ occupation was an attorney, as was his father.

4)      The early poems Mr. Masters wrote were published under the nom de plume, Dexter Wallace. Under that name, Mr. Masters expressed his Populist views.

5)      A series of poems about his boyhood experiences in western Illinois. Published under the name Webster Ford, the poems were the beginning of Spoon River Anthology (1915), the book that would make his reputation.

6)      Mr. Masters’ daughter Marcia and his son Hilary followed their father as a poet and novelist respectfully.

7)      In 1936 Mr. Masters was awarded the Mark Twain Silver Medal

8)      The poetry Mr. Masters wrote earned him the Poetry Society of America medal in 1941 and the Academy of American Poets Fellowship in 1942.

9)      Mr. Masters passed away in Melrose, PA. He is buried in Petersburg, IL.

10)   In 2014, Edgar Lee Masters was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

Books by Edgar Lee Masters*

Zohar – Man of la Book