author
L. Frank (Lewis Frank) Tooker
1855–1925
A poet, novelist, biographer, and longtime magazine editor, he brought a deep love of the sea to much of his writing. His books range from poems and fiction to a life of John Paul Jones and a memoir of editorial life.
1 Audiobook
Under Rocking Skies
by L. Frank (Lewis Frank) Tooker
About the author
Born in Port Jefferson, New York, Lewis Frank Tooker spent much of his career close to both the sea and the world of letters. He graduated from Yale, later served as deputy clerk of Suffolk County, and then joined the editorial staff of The Century Magazine, where he worked for decades.
Tooker wrote in several forms, including poetry, fiction, biography, and memoir. His known books include The Call of the Sea: And Other Poems, Under Rocking Skies, The Middle Passage, John Paul Jones, and The Joys and Tribulations of an Editor. The range of those titles gives a good sense of his interests: maritime life, character, adventure, and the craft of writing and editing.
He was born in December 1854 in Port Jefferson and died in September 1925 in Greenwich, Connecticut. The son of a sea captain, he seems to have drawn on that background throughout his work, especially in the strong nautical thread that runs through so much of his writing.