Charlotte Elizabeth Wilder

Charlotte Wilder (1898-1980) was an American poet and the eldest sister of author Thornton Wilder, Janet Wilder Dakin, and Amos Wilder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Wilder

http://www.thorntonwilder.com/charlotte-wilder-1898-1980-sister.html

Charlotte Wilder (1898–1980) was an American poet and the eldest sister of author Thornton Wilder, Janet Wilder Dakin, and Amos Wilder.

Life

She grew up in Berkeley, California and graduated from Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California). She received her B.A in English literature, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Mount Holyoke College in 1919 and her M.A. from Radcliffe College. She taught at Wheaton College and Smith College until 1934 when she became a full time poet.

According to an article in the January 15, 1983 issue of The Nation, ("New Deal New York" by Frederika Randall), Wilder worked on the Federal Writers' Project, part of the Works Progress Administration, during the 1930s. Other writers who worked on this project included Richard Wright (author), Ralph Ellison, Claude McKay, David Ignatow, and Maxwell Bodenheim.

She suffered from a nervous breakdown in 1941, the repercussions of which lasted until her death in 1980.

Select poetry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Wilder#Select_poetry

Awards

1937: Wilder shared the Shelley Memorial Award for Poetry in 1937 with Ben Belitt.

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Thornton Wilder's oldest sister Charlotte Wilder (1898-1980) was a poet who shared the Shelley Memorial Award for Poetry in 1937 with Ben Belitt. She attended high schools in Berkeley, California, and in China, and graduated from Berkeley High School. She received an M.A. degree from Radcliffe, and went on to a teaching career at Wheaton College and Smith College. In 1934, Charlotte moved to New York to devote all her time to writing. In 1941, she suffered a severe nervous breakdown. With the exception of periods in the early 1950s, she remained in institutions the rest of her life.