Louis Untermeyer

On October 1, 1885, Untermeyer entered the world in New York.  He didn't graduate from high school but instead joined the jewelry manufacturing company his father owned.  Displaying a love for literature, he read much and penned a book of poetry while also helping at a Marxist publication.  After World War I, government action caused The Masses to fold, but Untermeyer and other left-wing writers went on to found another, similar magazine.  Another magazine Untermeyer co-founded was The Seven Arts, which introduced its readers to new poets, including Robert Frost, a long-time friend of Untermeyer.

Though Untermeyer worked his way up to vice-president of his father's company, he resigned to spend more time writing.  An author, editor, or translator of over 100 books, Untermeyer also lectured and became a poet-in-resident at several universities.  A panelist on the television show What's My Line for over a year, Untermeyer suffered under McCarthyism, lost his job, and was blacklisted for his left-wing views.  However, he was chosen as the 14th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress and passed away over fifteen years later on December 18, 1977.

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