Sherwood Anderson

Sherwood Anderson
Anderson in 1923
Anderson in 1923
Born(1876-09-13)September 13, 1876
Camden, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 8, 1941(1941-03-08) (aged 64)
Colón, Panama
OccupationAuthor
Notable worksWinesburg, Ohio
SpouseCornelia Pratt Lane (1904–1916)
Tennessee Claflin Mitchell (1916–1924)
Elizabeth Prall (1924–1932)
Eleanor Copenhaver (1933–1941)
Signature

Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio. In 1912, Anderson had a nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family to become a writer.

At the time, he moved to Chicago and was eventually married three additional times. His most enduring work is the short-story sequence Winesburg, Ohio,[1] which launched his career. Throughout the 1920s, Anderson published several short story collections, novels, memoirs, books of essays, and a book of poetry. Though his books sold reasonably well, Dark Laughter (1925), a novel inspired by Anderson's time in New Orleans during the 1920s, was his only bestseller.