Lowry C. Wimberly

Born 1890-12-25 Plaquemine, LA (USA)

Died 1959-07-09
Lincoln, NE (USA)

Buried
Missouri Valley, IA (USA)
Calhoun Cemetery

Wimberly achieved lasting fame as the founding editor of the magazine Prairie Schooner which began publication at the University of Nebraska in 1926. He built Prairie Schooner into one of the most widely-read and admired small magazines in the country in just a few years. He was celebrated as a teacher of writing at the University of Nebraska for many years. He served as a mentor to some of Nebraska's leading writers, including Mari Sandoz, Rudolf Umland, Loren Eiseley, Jim Thompson and Weldon Kees. Along with Mari Sandoz, he served as a behind the scenes mentor and advisor to the WPA's depression-era Nebraska Federal Writers' Project, from its beginnings in 1935, to its death in 1942. Wimberly's own scholarly interest was folklore. Mari Sandoz was a close friend and admirer, along with Rudolf Umland.

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Places Lived

Lincoln, NE
Iowa
South Dakota
Louisiana

Author Of

Fiction
Nonfiction

Keywords

Folklore; Fiction; Short Stories; Children's Nonfiction; Literary Criticism; Nebraska Federal Writers Project

Education

Attended Woodbine Normal School, Iowa, 1905-09
Undergraduate Studies, 1911, Morningside College, Sioux City IA
Bachelor of Arts Degree, 1916, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
Master of Arts Degree, 1920, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
Ph.D., 1925, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
Studied at Columbia University, summer 1918, New York City, NY

Occupation

English Professor

Places Worked

University of Nebraska
University of South Dakota, summer 1931

Honors

Nebraska 150 Books honor for Mid Country, 2017
Founding Editor of Prairie Schooner

Associations

A student of Louise Pound at the University of Nebraska
Was a mentor himself to other writers including Loren Eiseley, Mari Sandoz and Bernice Slote

Bibliography

Death and Burial Lore in the English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 1927.
Folklore in English and Scottish Ballads. 1928.
Using Better English. 1937. (Co-author with Grace Mae Owens and Martin Severin Peterson)
Famous Cats of Fairyland. 1938. (Compiler and editor)

Edited:
Essays on Agriculture. 1921.
Ideas and Models. 1935.
Prairie Schooner Caravan. 1943.
Mid Country. 1945.

Editor in chief:
Prairie Schooner, (quarterly magazine)

Co-editor:
Dominant Types in British and American Literature. 1949.

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