Harriet Monroe (1860-1936) founded

Poetry

, the first periodical in the U.S. devoted solely to poetry.

Poetry: A Magazine of Verse

, as Monroe originally titled it, sparked the 20th century revival of interest in poetry in the U.S. and launched the careers of T.S. Eliot, Vachel Lindsay, Carl Sandburg, Wallace Stevens, among others.

Monroe was born in Chicago, the second of her parents’ four children who survived infancy. Her father was a prominent lawyer, and the family was well connected socially, although his practice and his fortune declined as his older children came of age. Monroe’s older sister married the successful architect John W. Root; her younger sister married William J. Calhoun, Minister to China under President Taft. Her father’s profession exposed Monroe to public

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Citation: Hendricks, Ted. "Harriet Monroe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 July 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3154, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3154 Harriet Monroe 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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