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1. Willa Cather

1873-1947

author

Known for her portrayals of pioneering life in Nebraska in novels such as “My Antonia” and “O Pioneers!”, Willa Cather is one of the main characters in modern American literary modernism and was the leading American writer of the 1920s and early 30s.

Wilella Cather, who shortened her name to Willa, was born in Virginia and moved to Nebraska with her family when she was 9 years old. The Cathers settled in Red Cloud, where Cather was drawn to the prairie and its settlers – later the subject of seven of their 12 novels.

In 1890, Cather moved to Lincoln to study at the University of Nebraska to become a doctor. But having an essay published in a Lincoln newspaper inspired her to become a writer and begin her career as a theater critic and columnist for the Nebraska State Journal.

In 1896, Cather became the editor of a women’s magazine in Pittsburgh, then taught in high school from 1901 to 1906 before returning to magazine work. In 1911 she became a full-time novelist and a year later published her first novel “Alexander’s Bridge”, followed by “O Pioneers!” 1913 and the autobiographical “Meine Antonia” 1918.