The definitive story of a troubled poet's struggles and triumphs

Now in paperback, this is the first book-length biography of Edgar Lee Masters, author of the celebrated Spoon River Anthology, one of the most widely read and discussed works of poetry ever written in America. Herbert K. Russell, acknowledged as the foremost authority on Masters, brilliantly conveys the internal contradictions that drove Masters throughout his life. Masters was one of America's most prolific authors yet only one of his works afforded him lasting recognition. He was a successful Chicago lawyer yet he detested the practice of law, and he married twice but was constantly in pursuit of other women.

Russell is the first scholar to be allowed to read and quote from all of Masters's diaries, his correspondence, and the unpublished chapters of his 1936 autobiography Across Spoon River. Russell skillfully tempers Masters's own version of events to craft a nuanced account of the poet's tempestuous relationships, impetuous business decisions, and artistic struggles.