Elinor Wylie

**Elinor Morton Wylie** (September 7, 1885 – December 16, 1928) was an American poet and novelist.  She was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. She was also famous for her beauty and personality.   She "was called the reigning queen of American poetry" in the 1920s.
    
## Life
### Family and childhood
Elinor Wylie was born Elinor Morton Hoyt on September 7, 1885 in Somerville, New Jersey. She came from a prominent New Jersey family. Her parents were Henry Martyn Hoyt, Jr. and Anne Morton McMichael. Elinor was the oldest of five children. This was when her father was appointed Assistant Attorney General. Together they had a son, Philip Hichborn, III. She went to England with Horace Wylie. He was a Washington lawyer, was married and was 17 years older than Elinor. In 1919, the couple moved to Washington. There she met with famous writers. They said she should publish her poetry. 

First she sent poems to *Poetry*, the leading American poetry magazine. The magazine accepted her poems. In 1921, she produced a book of poems called *Nets to Catch the Wind.* It was popular with both critics and the public.

Elinor Wylie left her second husband and moved to live in New York. On December 16, 1928, she suddenly died of Bright's disease

## Literary style
According to Evelyn Hively, Elinor Wylie "subscribed fully to the theory that a poet's work, as Wallace Stevens says, lies in trying to wrestle experience into meaning." Her poetry often followed strict rules and traditions. For example, many of her poems were sonnets. She also used a lot of imagery. 

All of Elinor's long works of fiction were allegories. They dealt with the supernatural or the strange and unusual. She called these fantasies "fairytales".

## Works
Elinor Wylie was primarily a poet, but she also wrote four successful novels, or fantasies, as well as short stories and essays.

### Volumes of poetry
**Incidental Numbers* (1912): Published anonymously by Elinor's mother
**Nets to Catch the Wind* (1921): The work that made her famous
**Black Armour* (1923)
**Angels and Earthly Creatures: A Sequence of Sonnets* (1928): Elinor completed the draft of this collection while visiting her husband.  She had her fatal stroke just after she finished it.
**Trivial Breath* (1928)
**Collected Poems of Elinor Wylie* (1932): Published after her death
**Last Poems of Elinor Wylie* (1943): Published after her death 

### Works of long fiction
* *Jennifer Lorn: A Sedate Extravaganza*. New York: Doran, 1923. London: Richards, 1924.
**The Venetian Glass Nephew*. New York: Doran, 1925. Chicago: Academy, 1984.
**The Orphan Angel*. New York: Knopf, 1926. Also published as Mortal Image. London: Heinemann, 1927.
**Mr. Hodge & Mr. Hazard*. New York. Knopf, 1928. London: Heinemann, 1928. Chicago: Academy, 1984.
 
## Related pages 
*List of poets from North America

## References 
## Books and other websites 
** Nancy Hoyt: *Elinor Wylie: The Portrait of an Unknown Lady*, Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1935
** Thomas A. Gray: *Elinor Wylie*. Twayne, New York, 1969
** Stanley Olson: *Elinor Wylie: A Life Apart: A Biography*. Dial Press, New York, 1979
** Judith Farr: *The Life and Art of Elinor Wylie*. Louisiana State University Press, 1983
** Evelyn Helmick Hively: *A Private Madness: The Genius of Elinor Wylie*. Kent State University Press, 2002
** Nancy Kuhl: *Intimate Circles. American Women in the Arts.* Katalogbuch mit Essays. Yale University Press, New Haven, 2007
** *Chambers Biographical Dictionary*. Edinburgh 2002, p. 1629
* Recording of Elinor Wylie's works at LibriVox