Abstract
Edgar Lee Masters published numerous poems, plays, and novels between 1900 and 1942; most go unread, with the exception ofSpoon River Anthology, which is among the most popular works of American poetry of the twentieth century. This collection of poems tells of the lives of the inhabitants of a fictional American town—Spoon River, Illinois. Many of the poems consider sickness and health in the community, and the insight they offer into human responses to illness continues to be relevant today, contributing not only to the lasting popularity ofSpoon River Anthology, but also the literary value of the work.
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References
Hallwas, J. E. (1992). Notes to the Poems. InSpoon River Anthology (pp. 363–436). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Masters, E. L. (1991).Across Spoon River, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. (Original work published 1936)
Masters, E. L. (1992).Spoon River Anthology. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. (Original work published 1916)
Masters, E. L. (1963).Vachel Lindsay: A Poet in America. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons. (Original work published 1935)
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Martens, P.B. Sickness in spoon river: Village health at the turn of the century. J Med Hum 16, 5–21 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02276817
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02276817