Spoon River Anthology
Edgar Lee Masters, 1884
A compilation of epitaph-style monologues that reveal the dark, often absurd truth beneath small-town Victorian propriety.
Edgar Lee Masters
1868–1950
Masters, who frequently wrote in local publications, used this format to critique social hypocrisy and the superficial nature of small-town life.
Feels like death, melancholy and society.
The cost of constant spiritual dominance is rarely visible, but it is always paid.
I grew spiritually fat living off the souls of men.If I saw a soul that was strongI wounded its pride and devoured its strength.The shelters of friendship knew my cunning,For where I could steal a friend I did so.And wherever I could enlarge my powerBy undermining ambition, I did so,Thus to make smooth my own.And to triumph over other souls,Just to assert and prove my superior strength,Was with me a delight,The keen exhilaration of soul gymnastics.Devouring souls, I should have lived forever. Books by Edgar Lee Masters
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