Fanny Butcher ( Fanny Amanda Butcher; September 13, 1888 – May 11, 1987)
was a long time
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and
literary critic
A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...
for the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' newspaper.
Personal life
Butcher was born on September 13, 1888, in
Fredonia, Kansas
Fredonia is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,151. The city was founded in 1868, and saw considerable expansion in the ear ...
, to Levi Oliver Butcher (1862–1929) and Hattie May Young (; 1864–1947). Her family moved to Chicago when she was 3-years-old
and she later attended Lewis Institute (now
Illinois Institute of Technology
The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...
) from 1906 to 1908. She graduated from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1910. In 1935 Butcher married Richard Drummond Bokum, Jr. (1885–1963), an advertising executive. They had no children.
Career
She began at the ''Tribune'' in 1913 and held various positions including
society editor, club editor, crime reporter, fashion editor, women's assistant editor, special correspondent, music assistant critic. In 1923 she became the literary editor and held the position for 40 years until her retirement in 1963.
A cartoon by
Helen E. Hokinson
Helen Elna Hokinson (June 29, 1893 – November 1, 1949) was an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for ''The New Yorker''. Over a 20-year span, she contributed 68 covers and more than 1,800 cartoons to ''The New Yorker''.
Life and ...
of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' on the back cover of Fanny Butcher's autobiography, ''Many Lives – One Love'', depicts a bookstore clerk in the biography section showing a book to an elderly lady, saying:
From this, one might infer that Fanny Butcher was a household name among bookish Americans in 1940. In 2016, Butcher was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
See also
*
Arthur Meeker, Jr.
Resources
Bibliography
* ; ; .
External links
Fanny Butcher Papersat
the Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wor ...
Hervey Allen Papers, 1831-1965, SC.1952.01, Special Collections Department, University of PittsburghAdele Hast, The ''Caxtonian Web Edition'', May 2002. The
Caxton Club
The Caxton Club is a private social club and bibliophilic society founded in Chicago in 1895 to promote the book arts and the history of the book. To further its goals, the club hosts monthly events, collaborates with institutions like the New ...
of Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher, Fanny
1888 births
1987 deaths
Chicago Tribune people
American literary critics
American women literary critics
People from Fredonia, Kansas
American women's page journalists
American women journalists