William Rose Benét

William Rose Benét (February 2, 1886 – May 4, 1950) was an American poet, writer, and editor. He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét, and the younger brother of Laura Benét.

Early life and education

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét and his wife, Frances Neill (née Rose), and grandson of Brigadier General Stephen Vincent Benét. He was educated The Albany Academy in Albany, NY and at Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, graduating with a Ph.B. in 1907. At Yale, he edited and contributed light verse to campus humor magazine The Yale Record.

Benét came to California in 1909 where his father was stationed as a commander of the Benicia Arsenal in Benicia. He arrived at the Carmel-by-the-Sea writers' colony and stayed with, roommate and friend, Sinclair Lewis. Lewis and Benét left Carmel after six months.

Career

He began the Saturday Review of Literature in 1924 and continued to edit and write for it until his death.

In 1942, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book of autobiographical verse, The Dust Which Is God (1941). His brother Stephen Vincent Benét was awarded the same prize two years later in 1944.

Benét is also the author of The Reader's Encyclopedia, a standard American guide to world literature.

Today he is perhaps best known as the author of "The Skater of Ghost Lake," a poem frequently assigned in American schools for its use of onomatopoeia and rhythm as well as its tone of dark mystery.

Personal life

Benét married four times. First, on September 3, 1912, he married Teresa Frances Thompson, with whom he had three children (James Walker Benét (1914-2012), Frances Rosemary Benét, and Kathleen Anne Benét). Teresa died in 1919.