Marguerite Young
| Marguerite Young | |
|---|---|
Marguerite Young with MS of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling
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| Born |
August 26, 1908 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Died | 17 November 1995 (aged 87) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Occupation | Poet, novelist, biographer, professor |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Butler University B.A. University of Chicago M.A. University of Iowa Ph.D. |
| Notable works |
Angel in the Forest Miss MacIntosh, My Darling Harp Song for a Radical |
Marguerite Vivian Young (August 26, 1908 – November 17, 1995) was an American writer and academic. She is best known for her novel Miss MacIntosh, My Darling. In her later years, she was known for teaching creative writing and as a mentor to young authors. "She was a respected literary figure as well as a cherished Greenwich Village eccentric." During her lifetime, Young wrote two books of poetry, two historical studies, one collection of short stories, one novel, and one collection of essays.
Young was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Through her father, Chester Ellis Young, she was a collateral descendant of Brigham Young, and by her mother, Fay Herron Knight, she was a direct descendant of John Knox..
Young's parents separated when she was very young, and she and her sister, Naomi, were brought up by their maternal grandmother, Marguerite Herron Knight, who was convinced the child Marguerite was the reincarnation of her dead cousin, Little Harry. Her grandmother nurtured Young's love of literature.
Young studied at Butler University in Indianapolis, receiving a BA in French and English. She then attended the University of Chicago, auditing Thornton Wilder's writing class at his invitation. She also attended the University of Iowa.
In 1936, she earned her MA in Elizabethan and Jacobean Literature. She wrote her master's thesis on Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit by John Lyly (1578).
While attending the University of Chicago, Young had a part-time position reading Shakespeare to Minna K. Weissenbach. A patron of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Weissenbach was also known as the opium lady of Hyde Park. Weissenbach was to be the inspiration for the Opium Lady in Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, and the drug-based flights of fantasy were to make their way into the novel.
She briefly taught at Shortridge High School before embarking on a distinguished literary career.
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