Laura Benét

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/lbenet.htm

Born at Fort Hamilton, New York, on June 1, 1884, the daughter of Colonel James Walker and Frances Neill Rose Benet. She graduated from the Emma Willard School, Troy, New York; received a B.A. degree from Vassar College, 1907; Litt.D degree from Moravian College, Bethelem, Pennsylvania.

She worked as a settlement worker at the Spring Street Settlement in New York City, 1915-17; placement worker at the Children's Aid Society, New York City, 1917; sanitary inspector, American Red Cross, Augusta, Georgia, 1917-19; worker at St. Bartholomew's House, 1924-25; secretary and assistant book page editor, New York Evening Post, 1927-28; editorial department at the New York Sun, 1928-29; book review editor's assistant and book review substitute, the New York Times, summer of 1930; and a free-lance writer from 1930 until her death.

She received a medal as an honor poet, National Poetry Center, 1936. Her poems were recorded at the Library of Congress in 1958. She was a Democrat and an Episcopalian. She was the author of: Fair Bred (poems), 1921; Noah's Dove (poems), 1929; Goods and Chattels (fiction), 1930; A Basket For A Fair (poems), 1934; The Boy Shelley (biography), 1937; The Hidden Valley (fiction),1938; Enchanting Jenny Lind (biography), 1939; Roxana Ramphant (fiction), 1940; Young Edgar Allen Poe (biography), 1941; Come Slowly, Eden: A Novel About Emily Dickinson, 1942; Caleb's Luck (for children), 1942; Washington Irving, Explorer of American Legend, 1944; Is Morning Sure (poems), 1947; Thackeray of the Great Heart and Humorous Pen (biography), 1947; Barnum's First Circus and Other Stories (for children), 1949; Famous American Poets, 1950; Coleridge, Poet of Wild Enchantment, 1952; Stanley, Invincible Explorer (biography), 1955; Famous American Humourists, 1959; In Love With Time (poems), 1959; Horseshoe Nails, 1965; Famous Poets for Young People, 1964; Famous English and American Essayists, 1966; Famous Storytellers, 1968; Famous New England Poets, 1970; Introductions To Classics, Verse to Periodicals. A member of the Poetry Society Association, Women Poets Ctaftsmen P.E.N. Club and Brush Club (honorary).

She lived in New York City and died on February 17, 1979 and was buried with her parents in Section 6 of Arlington National Cemetery.

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• I saw Time in a dream and he was fair
• As a May hillside or a sparkling river.
• Enveloped in warm sun, benignant air,
• He stood – no reaper but a lavish giver.
• His open hands tossed years to spend and spare.
• I saw Time in a dream and oh, how fair! - In Love with Time
• from http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Benet__Laura.html

Social worker, newspaper editor, poet, novelist and biographer, Laura Benét was born June 13, 1884 in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York.  She was the daughter of James Walker, an army officer, and Frances Neill Rose and the elder sister to two very important literary figures: Saturday Review editor William Rose Benet (18 months younger) and Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Vincent (12 years younger). 

Benét graduated from the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, received a bachelor’s degree at Vassar College in 1907, and a litt.D degree from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1967.

As a social worker, she worked for places like Spring Street Settlement (1913-1916) and Children’s Aid Society (1917) in New York City.  After retiring from social work, she worked for several New York newspapers as an editor.  She was an assistant editor of book page at the New York Evening Post (1926-1928), an assistant to book page editor at the New York Evening Sun (1928-1929), and a substitute review editor of the New York Times (1930).

During her time as a writer, she wrote children’s books, novels, poetry, and biographies.  Benét belonged to the Poetry Society of America, PEN, Women Poets, Craftsman Group, and the Pen and Brush Club (honorary).  In 1936, she received a medal as an honor poet from the National Poetry Center.  Her poems were recorded at the Library of Congress in 1958. Laura Benét lived in New York City and died on February 17, 1979.  She was buried in Section 6 of the Arlington National Cemetery with her parents.

Profile photo: Laura on left, with brothers Stephen Vincent Benet and William Rose Benet.

Photo source: http://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu/archives/findaid/Benet/