Laura Benét (1884–1979)

Laura Benet was born at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of an army officer and his wife. She was the older sister of William Rose Benet and Stephen Vincent Benet. She graduated from the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY and earned a bachelor’s degree at Vassar College in 1907. She worked as a social worker for the Spring Street Settlement and Children’s Aid Society in New York City, among other agencies. She then became an editor for several newspapers, including the New York Times, and a freelance writer. She considered herself primarily a poet, and published six volumes of poetry, but also produced children’s books, novels, and biographies of famous Americans. In 1936, Laura Benet received a medal from the National Poetry Center. Late in life, she published a memoir, When William Rose, Stephen Vincent, and I Were Young (1976).