author
Stephen Vincent Benét
1898–1943
A celebrated American poet and storyteller, he brought history, folklore, and national character to vivid life in verse and fiction. His enduring works include John Brown’s Body, “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” and “By the Waters of Babylon.”
6 Audiobooks
Young Adventure: A Book of Poems
by Stephen Vincent Benét
Young People's Pride: A Novel
by Stephen Vincent Benét
The Bat
by Stephen Vincent Benét, Avery Hopwood, Mary Roberts Rinehart
Five Men and Pompey: A Series of Dramatic Portraits
by Stephen Vincent Benét
Spanish bayonet
by Stephen Vincent Benét
Heavens and Earth : A book of poems
by Stephen Vincent Benét
About the author
Born in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania, in 1898, Stephen Vincent Benét grew up in a literary family and began publishing poetry at a remarkably young age. He studied at Yale, where he earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and later married writer Rosemary Carr, with whom he sometimes collaborated.
Benét became widely known for John Brown’s Body (1928), a sweeping narrative poem about the American Civil War that won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He also wrote novels, essays, radio scripts, and memorable short stories, including “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and “By the Waters of Babylon.”
A prominent literary figure during the 1930s, Benét supported the Allied cause during World War II and continued working across poetry, fiction, and public writing. He died in New York City in 1943 at age 44; his unfinished epic Western Star received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1944.