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Elinor Wylie

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Poet

The Resume

    (September 7, 1885-December 16, 1928)
    Born in Somerville, New Jersey
    Birth name was Elinor Hoyt
    Poetry collections include 'Nets to Catch the Wind' (1921), 'Black Armor' (1923), 'Trivial Breath' (1928) and 'Angels and Earthly Creatures' (1929)
    Wrote the novels 'Jennifer Lorn' (1923), 'The Venetian Glass Nephew' (1925), 'The Orphan Angel' (1925) and 'Mr. Hodge & Mr. Hazard' (1928)

Why she might be annoying:

    She scandalized Washington society when she abandoned her husband and son and ran off to England with married lawyer Horace Wylie.
    A friend described her as 'positively dotty' about Shelley, not just modeling her poetry on his, but even 'seeing' him on occasion.
    She spotted a woman reading one of her novels and earnestly told her, 'How I envy you reading that beautiful book!'
    Despite having been a critical and popular success, interest in her work faded quickly after her death.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was described as an 'ethereal beauty.'
    Critic Carl Van Vechten organized a torchlight parade in Manhattan to celebrate the publication of her first novel.
    The New York Times wrote about 'Black Armor,' 'There is not a misplaced word or cadence in it. There is not an extra syllable.'
    She suffered several miscarriages, a stillbirth, and the premature birth of a child who died after one week.
    She suffered dangerously high blood pressure all her adult life, which caused severe migraines and eventually led to her death from a stroke at age 43.
    Her work was rediscovered by feminist critics in the 1980s.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying