author
Edmund Clarence Stedman
1833–1908
A lively voice in 19th-century American letters, he moved with unusual ease between Wall Street and the literary world. His poems, criticism, and anthologies helped shape how readers of his time discovered both American and Victorian writing.
1 Audiobook
The poetical works of Edmund Clarence Stedman
by Edmund Clarence Stedman
About the author
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1833, Edmund Clarence Stedman became known as an American poet, critic, essayist, and editor. He studied at Yale before beginning a varied career that included journalism and, later, work as a stockbroker in New York while continuing to write.
Stedman was especially admired in the late 19th century for his literary criticism and for the anthologies he edited, which introduced readers to a wide range of poets. His own poetry was also widely read, and his work helped make him an important figure in American literary culture of the period.
What makes him especially memorable is the mix of worlds he inhabited: practical business life on one side, and serious literary ambition on the other. He died in New York in 1908, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both the tastes and the energy of his era.