Spoon River Anthology

A literary sensation when it appeared in 1915, Spoon River Anthology earned Edgar Lee Masters comparisons to T. S. Eliot and Walt Whitman. The characters who speak here tarnish the pure image of their Midwestern hamlet by holding forth from the grave with tales of illicit love affairs, betrayed confidences, political corruption, and miserable marriages. The first serious work of psychological naturalism, this artful indictment of small-town hypocrisy influenced Theodore Dreiser, William Faulkner, and other luminaries.

Edgar Lee Masters (1869-û1950) grew up in western Illinois and worked as a lawyer. In 1915 he published his major work, Spoon River Anthology, which became an instant bestseller and won several literary awards. Jerome Loving, a recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships for biography, is Distinguished Professor of English at Texas A&M University.

Spoon River Anthology Introduction by Jerome Loving
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text

Spoon River Anthology

Explanatory Notes