Biographical Highlights:
Born on December 7, 1873 in Back Creek Valley (small farming community close
to the Blue Ridge Mountains) in Virginia
Moves to Nebraska Divide in 1883
Moves to Red Cloud, Nebraska, in 1884
Graduates from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1896
Moves to New York City in 1901 to write for the journal McClure's
During the years 1901 to 1906 lives with the McClung family
Meets close friend Edith Lewis in 1908 - live together until Cather's death
Dies on April 24, 1947 - buried in New Hampshire
Bibliographical Highlights:
Primary works:
Collection of poems: April Twilights (1903)
Collection of stories: The Troll Garden (1905)
First published novel: Alexander's Bridge (1912)
Three most acclaimed novels: O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915),
and My Ántonia (1918)
Middle Period Works: A Lost Lady (1923) and The Professor's House (1925)
Later Works: Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927) and Shadows on the Rock
(1931)
Secondary sources:
Bennet, Mildred R. The World of Willa Cather. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 1961.
Bloom, Harold. Willa Cather: Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea
House Publishers, 1985.
O'Brien, Sharon. Willa Cather: The Emerging Voice. New York: Oxford
UP, 1987.