Willa Cather

Also known as Willa Sibert Cather, Wilella Sibert “Willa” Cather, Wilella Sibert Cather

American writer (1873–1947)

AI overview

Willa Cather was an American writer who lived from 1873 to 1947 and is remembered for her novels depicting frontier life and pioneer experiences in the American West. Her work is considered important in American literature for capturing the struggles and achievements of settlers and immigrants in early twentieth-century rural America.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: female
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Gore
Place of death: Manhattan
Educated at: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Languages spoken: English language
Award: William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Image: Willa Cather ca. 1912 wearing necklace from Sarah Orne Jewett (cropped).jpg

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Commons category: Willa Cather
date of birth: 1873-01-01
date of death: 1947-01-01
member of: American Philosophical Society
name in native language: Willa Cather
Commons Creator page: Willa Cather
cause of death: cerebral hemorrhage
has works in the collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art
writing language: English language
personal library at: Harry Ransom Center
manner of death: natural causes

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Encyclopedic overview

Willa Sibert Cather (/ˈkæðər/; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia. In 1923, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a novel set during World War I.

Willa Cather and her family moved from Virginia to Webster County, Nebraska, when she was nine years old. The family later settled as Homesteaders in the town of Red Cloud. Shortly after graduating from the University of Nebraska, Cather moved to Pittsburgh for 10 years, supporting herself as a magazine editor and high school English teacher. At the age of 33, she moved to New York City, her primary home for the rest of her life, though she also traveled widely and spent considerable time at her summer residence on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. She spent the last 39 years of her life with her domestic partner, Edith Lewis, before being diagnosed with breast cancer and dying of a cerebral hemorrhage. Cather and Lewis are buried together in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Willa Cather” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.