Today's Out Spotlight was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and one of the most
prominent American writers of the early 20th century. She is best known
for her novels “O Pioneers!” and “My Antonia.” Today's Out Spotlight is Willa Cather.
Born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia, on December 7, 1873 Willa Cather was the oldest of seven
children. At the age of 10, she and her extended family moved to Red Cloud,
Nebraska. During her adolescence, Cather was known for her masculine style
of dress and referred to herself as “Willie.” She grew up listening to
the stories of immigrants and was fascinated by the people and the
nature of prairie life. This experience would inspire much of her novel,
“My Antonia,” published in 1918.
Following high school, she attended the University of Nebraska
with aspirations of becoming a doctor. After one of her essays was
published in the Lincoln Journal, Cather decided to pursue writing.
Having earned her degree, her relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She
worked for newspapers and magazines, and began publishing her poetry
and short stories.
Her work caught the attention of famed editor S. S. McClure, who
hired her for McClure’s magazine. She moved to New York and became
acquainted with many prominent writers. By 1908, Cather was one of the
most influential editors in the country. Her first of 12 novels,
“Alexander’s Bridge,” was published in 1912. By the 1920s, Cather was
considered one of the leading American novelists.
In 1922, Cather received a Pulitzer Prize for her novel “One of
Ours.” She received honorary degrees from the University of Michigan,
Columbia, and Yale, and became the first woman to receive an honorary
degree from Princeton.
From 1908 until her death
April 24, 1947, she lived with Edith Lewis, a
prominent New York editor. In her later years, Cather continued writing
short stories, novels and nonfiction essays. She has been hailed as one
of the great writers, especially for her depictions of rural American
life.
“The end is nothing, the road is all.”
