Beloved American author Willa Cather, best known for her stories of frontier life, had her first work published in the Nebraska State Journal on November 5, 1893. Cather would later go on to write classics like O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and Death Comes for the Archbishop.
Cather was born in Virginia on December 7, 1873, though she moved to Nebraska when she was nine. She attended the University of Nebraska and had an essay on Thomas Carlyle published in the Nebraska State Journal her freshman year. Soon after, she opted to change her major from science to English. Cather moved to Pittsburgh after college to write for Home Monthly, before moving to New York City in 1906. Her first novel, Alexander’s Bridge, was published in 1912 to favorable reviews, and she followed that work with what is known as her Prairie Trilogy: O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia.
See our study guide on Willa Cather’s short story “The Namesake,” which tells how an American expatriate discovers the meaning of his home country.
Click here to sign up for our newsletter.Distinguished scholar-teachers Amy and Leon Kass demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.
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