William Rose Benét
Encyclopedia
William Rose Benét was an American poet, writer, and editor.
He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét
.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét and his wife née Frances Neill Rose, and grandson of Brigadier General Stephen Vincent Benét. He was educated The Albany Academy
in Albany, NY and at Sheffield Scientific School
of Yale University
, graduating with a PhB in 1907. He began the Saturday Review of Literature in 1924 and continued to edit and write for it until his death.
Benét married four times:
First, on 3 September 1912, he married Teresa France Thomson, with whom he had three children (James Walker Benét, Frances Rosemary Benét, and Kathleen Anne Benét). Teresa died in 1919.
Benét's second wife whom he married on 5 October 1923, was poet Elinor Wylie
. She died in 1928.
Benét's third wife, whom he married on 15 March 1932, was Lora Baxter. They divorced in 1937.
Benét's fourth wife, and widow, was children's writer Marjorie Flack
.
In 1942, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
for his book of autobiographical verse, The Dust Which Is God (1941).
He is also the author of The Reader's Encyclopedia, the standard American guide to world literature.
His son, James Walker Benét (b. 1914) is the author of two suspense novels and a guidebook to the San Francisco Bay Area
.
He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét and his wife née Frances Neill Rose, and grandson of Brigadier General Stephen Vincent Benét. He was educated The Albany Academy
The Albany Academy
The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer and the city council of Albany...
in Albany, NY and at Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was...
of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, graduating with a PhB in 1907. He began the Saturday Review of Literature in 1924 and continued to edit and write for it until his death.
Benét married four times:
First, on 3 September 1912, he married Teresa France Thomson, with whom he had three children (James Walker Benét, Frances Rosemary Benét, and Kathleen Anne Benét). Teresa died in 1919.
Benét's second wife whom he married on 5 October 1923, was poet Elinor Wylie
Elinor Wylie
Elinor Morton Wylie was an American poet and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s. "She was famous during her life almost as much for her ethereal beauty and personality as for her melodious, sensuous poetry."...
. She died in 1928.
Benét's third wife, whom he married on 15 March 1932, was Lora Baxter. They divorced in 1937.
Benét's fourth wife, and widow, was children's writer Marjorie Flack
Marjorie Flack
Marjorie Flack was an award-winning artist and writer of children's picture books. Flack was born in Greenport, Long Island, New York in 1897. She was best known for The Story about Ping , popularized by Captain Kangaroo, and for her stories of an insatiably curious Scottish terrier named Angus,...
.
In 1942, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
for his book of autobiographical verse, The Dust Which Is God (1941).
He is also the author of The Reader's Encyclopedia, the standard American guide to world literature.
His son, James Walker Benét (b. 1914) is the author of two suspense novels and a guidebook to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
Works
- Merchants of Cathay (1913)
- The Great White Wall: A Poem (1916)
- Perpetual Light: A Memorial (1919)
- Moons of Grandeur: A Book of Poems (1920)
- Dry Points: Studies in Black and White (1921)
- The Flying King of Kurio: A Story of Children (1926)
- Wild Goslings: A Selection of Fugitive Pieces (1927)
- Starry Harness (1933)
- Pocket University: Guide to Daily Reading (1934)
- Golden Fleece: A Collection of Poems and Ballads Old and New (1935)
- Great Poems of the English Language (1936)
- Mad Blake: A Poem (1937)
- Day of Deliverance: A Book of Poems in Wartime (1940)
- The Dust Which is God: A Novel in Verse (1945)
- The Stairway of Surprise: Poems (1947)
- Timothy's Angels, Verse (1947)
- The Spirit of the Scene (1951)
- The First Person Singular (1971)
- The Prose and Poetry of Elinor Wylie (1974)