Edgar Lee Masters

Max Lester Loges (Lamar University)

Ed. by Stephen E. Meats, Pittsburg State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 23 Aug 1868
Died 5 Mar 1950
Activity 1888-1950

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Activities

Primary

Autobiographer
Biographer
Essayist
Lawyer/ Barrister/ Solicitor
Novelist
Poet

Resources

Masters' Works

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Edgar Lee Masters was an early twentieth century American poet and prose writer. Although he wrote over fifty books in a variety of genres, he is almost exclusively known for

Spoon River Anthology (SRA)

, first published in serial form in 1914.

Masters was born on August 23, 1868 in Garnett, Kansas to Hardin and Emma Masters. His father was a lawyer who had recently come to Kansas for a change of scenery, but he soon returned to his hometown of Petersburg, Illinois on the Sagemon River where the family spent the next eleven years. In 1880 the family moved to Lewiston, Illinois on the Spoon River. Lewiston was larger than Petersburg and offered greater opportunities for Hardin to get established as a lawyer. These two towns, each located on a river, would serve in Masters’ mind as models

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2120 words

Citation: Loges, Max Lester. "Edgar Lee Masters". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2982, accessed 21 November 2024.]