Harriet Monroe

author

Harriet Monroe

1860–1936

A driving force in American poetry, she founded Poetry magazine and helped introduce many of the 20th century’s most important writers to a wider audience. She was also a poet and critic whose own work reflected a deep commitment to the arts.

1 Audiobook

Harlow Niles Higinbotham

Harlow Niles Higinbotham

by Harriet Monroe

About the author

Born in Chicago on December 23, 1860, Harriet Monroe became one of the most influential literary figures of her era. She studied at the Visitation Academy in Georgetown and later built a career as a poet, critic, and editor, becoming especially known for her determined support of new writing.

In 1912, she founded Poetry in Chicago and served as its longtime editor. The magazine became a major home for modern poetry, publishing and supporting writers such as T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, H.D., and Wallace Stevens, and helping shape the direction of American literary culture.

Monroe also published several books of poetry and prose, including an autobiography, A Poet's Life. She died in Peru on September 26, 1936, but her legacy lives on through the magazine she created and the generations of poets it helped bring into view.