13 Facts About Harriet Monroe

Harriet Monroe was an American editor, scholar, literary critic, poet, and patron of the arts.

Harriet Monroe was the founding publisher and long-time editor of Poetry magazine, which she established in 1912.

Harriet Monroe read at an early age; her father, a lawyer, had a large library that provided refuge from domestic discord.

In 1879, Harriet Monroe graduated from the Visitation Academy located in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC Her mentor in writing was Mary Paulina Finn, a nun and writer.

Harriet Monroe was later recognized as a talented author for her age.

Harriet Monroe's prose published in 1899 in the Atlantic Monthly, The "Grand Canyon of the Colorado", was considered better poetry than her most notable poem, I love my life.

Harriet Monroe was editor for its first two years without salary, while simultaneously working as an art critic for the Chicago Tribune.

Don Share, who became editor of Poetry in 2013, writes that Harriet Monroe seemed to have a "sixth sense" about the poetry she published.

Harriet Monroe continued to edit Poetry magazine until she died in Arequipa, Peru on September 26,1936, at age 75.

Harriet Monroe was on her way to climb Machu Picchu, and the high altitudes reportedly triggered a cerebral hemorrhage, which caused her death.

Harriet Monroe was a member of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony in Ogle County, Illinois, and is mentioned in Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City.

In 2011, Harriet Monroe was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

Harriet Monroe was the sister-in-law of Chicago architect John Wellborn Root, and wrote his biography.