Literary Giants

Literary Giants. Missouri Wall of Fame. , Kate Chopin , 1850-1904 , Native of St. Louis, MO , Born Kate O'Flaherty, this author of short stories and novels is widely recognized as one of the leading writers of her time. Best known for her feminist novel The Awakening, Chopin's stories aroused controversy because of their subjects and drew criticism during her lifetime. Within a decade of her death, Chopin was widely recognized as one of the leading writers of her time. , T.S.Eliot , 1888-1965 , Born in St. Louis, MO , Born Thomas Stearns Eliot, this writer is considered one of the 20th-century's major poets. His poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement and was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. , Eugene Field , 1850-1895 , Born in St. Louis, MO , Known as the "poet of childhood," this writer is best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. Field also enjoyed a successful career as a journalist in the Missouri cities of St. Joseph. , Langston Hughes , 1902-1967 , Born in Joplin, MO , Born James Mercer Langston Hughes, this writer and social activist is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. Hughes was also one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called Jazz Poetry. , Laura Ingalls Wilder , 1867-1957 , Lived in Mansfield, MO , This writer moved to Mansfield, MO, in 1894 with her husband. Wilder's best-selling series of children's books Little House on the Prairie is based on her childhood in a pioneer family. Since their release in 1932, the books have been continuously in print and translated into 40 languages. The books later became the basis for a long-running TV series by the same name. , Tennessee Williams , 1911-1983 , Lived in St. Louis, MO , Born Thomas Lanier Williams III, this writer is considered one of the foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. His successes include A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof among others.