Willa Cather (1872 - 1947)
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j BACKGROUND
Born in western Virginia, she moved with her family to Red Cloud, Nebraska when she was 10
In Nebraska, her new neighbors were immigrants--Swedes, Germans, Slavs, and Russians--and she grew aware of the diversity of people as well as the qualities that all people share
Many of these frontier experiences are translated into scenes in her fiction
j CAREER
After graduating from the Univesity of Nebraska in 1895, Cather worked as an editor for a Pittsburgh newspaper, while writing short stories and poems
In 1906, she moved to New York City, where she worked as the managing editor of McClure's Magazine
In 1912, she published her first novel and left the magazine to pursue a career in writing fiction
j WORKS
O Pioneers!
My Antonia
One of Ours
j QUOTE
"The history of every great country begins in the heart of a man or a woman."
j SIGNIFICANCE
Her work shows admiration for the courage and spirit of the immigrants and other settlers of the frontier as they suffered loneliness, isolation, and other hardships, while exanding America
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