Rufus Wilmot Griswold

About

An American author, anthologist, and critic, he is most famous for his 1842 anthology, The Poets and Poetry of America. His other anthologies include Curiosities of American Literature and Female Poets of America.

Before Fame

One of fourteen children born to a Vermont farmer, he left home at age fifteen. He published his first anthology, Biographical Annual, in 1841.

Trivia

His anonymous review of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass harshly critiqued the masterpiece work.

Family Life

He was married three times-- to Caroline Searles, Charlotte Myers, and Harriet McCrillis-- and may have also had a homosexual relationship with journalist and musician George C. Foster.

Associated With

He had a working relationship and rivalry with Edgar Allan Poe. The two were, at one point, engaged in a jealous competition for the affections of poet Frances Sargent Osgood.