Orrick Johns

Orrick Glenday Johns (June 2, 1887 – July 8, 1946) was an American poet and playwright and was part of the literary group that included T. S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. He was active in the Communist Party.

Johns was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to George Sibley Johns and Minnehaha McDearmon. George Sibley Johns was an editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. George and Minnehaha had three sons. They resided in a home on Compton avenue, where Orrick was born, and later moved farther west, to Cook avenue. The family moved several times during Orrick's childhood, including to St. Charles, Kirkwood, and to the city's West End. Johns' family settled in a house on Cabanne Place when Orrick was six years old.

Orrick lost a leg as a child in St. Louis to a streetcar accident. After the accident, Johns' family had to give up their home on Cabanne Place and move across the tracks to Maple avenue. Johns spent six months in bed recovering from the amputation and spent his time reading and developing a love of writing and publishing. The trolley company was deemed liable for the accident and the family was awarded a small sum. The accident spurred George Sibley Johns to advocate for improvements to the trolley system. He started a newspaper campaign to have the trolleys install better brakes and put fenders on the cars.

Johns was educated locally at public schools, including Dozier School, Central High School, and the University of Missouri. After graduating Johns held several jobs and eventually landed at The Mirror as a drama critic. This position launched his literary career.

Johns' poetry began to attract attention around 1912. He also became interested in leftist politics around this time. Johns moved to New York City where he resided on and off for the next ten years. He occasionally made trips back to St. Louis to visit his father and wrote some of his best works while in the city. Johns won a poetry contest in 1912 hosted by The Lyric Year, despite competing against Edna St. Vincent Millay's famed "Renascence", a victory he felt was misjudged.

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