author
Elinor Wylie
1885–1928
A poet and novelist who became one of the best-known literary voices of the 1920s, she wrote musical, carefully shaped verse and fiction touched by wit, fantasy, and a cool, polished elegance. Her work often balances beauty and control against the strain of a turbulent personal life.
1 Audiobook
Nets to Catch the Wind
by Elinor Wylie
About the author
Born in Somerville, New Jersey, on September 7, 1885, Elinor Wylie grew up in a prominent family and spent much of her youth in Washington, D.C. She first drew attention for her striking public image, but readers came to know her for poems and novels whose refinement and emotional intensity stood out in the years after World War I.
Her first major poetry collection, Nets to Catch the Wind (1921), helped establish her reputation, and she followed it with books including Black Armour and Angels and Earthly Creatures. She also wrote novels such as Jennifer Lorn and The Orphan Angel, bringing the same polished style and imaginative sweep to prose that she brought to poetry.
Wylie was admired for lyrical language, formal grace, and a sensibility that could feel both aristocratic and restless. She died in New York City on December 16, 1928, at just 43, but her writing has continued to attract readers who enjoy poetry and fiction that are vivid, musical, and finely made.