William Slater Brown (November 13, 1896 – June 22, 1997) was an American novelist, biographer, and translator of French literature. Most notably, he was a friend of the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962), commonly known as e e cummings or E. E. Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. During World War I, he worked as an ambulance driver and was ...

and is best known as the character "B." in Cumming's 1922 memoir/novel ''

The Enormous Room ''The Enormous Room (The Green-Eyed Stores)'' is a 1922 autobiographical novel by the poet and novelist E. E. Cummings about his temporary imprisonment in France during World War I. Background Cummings served as an ambulance driver during the ...

''. His books, published under the name Slater Brown, include the novel ''The Burning Wheel'' (1943); ''

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

and the

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later be ...

'' (1956), a biography for children; and ''The Heyday of Spiritualism'' (1970), a study of the 19th-century interest in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry (paranormal), psychometry) and other paranormal cla ...

and the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

Early life

Brown was born to the physician Frederick Augustus Brown and Katharine Slater in the town of

Webster, Massachusetts Webster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,776 at the 2020 census. Named after statesman Daniel Webster, the town was founded by industrialist Samuel Slater, and was home to several early Amer ...

. His great-great grandfather, businessman

Samuel Slater Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson, and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the ...

, was the chief founder of Webster and is credited with beginning the industrial revolution in the United States with the opening of a textile mill in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

in 1790. Early family wealth disappeared through a series of misfortunes, and Brown and his younger siblings, Fritz, Joyce and Kitty, grew up in relative poverty. From the age of 16, while living with cousins in Boston, the rebellious Brown adopted a life and world philosophy at odds to that of his parents, and he undertook a process of self-discovery that led him to a failed enrollment at

Columbia School of Journalism Columbia most often refers to: * Columbia (personification), the historical personification of the United States * Columbia University, a private university in New York City * Columbia Pictures, an American film studio owned by Sony Pictures * ...

World War I

Brown volunteered to serve in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in early 1917. En route to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

aboard the he met E.E. Cummings. Due to an organizational mix-up, the two spent five weeks together in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

before assigned to an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

unit, during which time they became close friends. In September 1917 Brown and Cummings were arrested on suspicion of espionage and were imprisoned at the

La Ferté-Macé LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

detention camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. Cummings was released in December 1917 after intervention from his father; however, Brown was not released at the same time, and in fact was transferred at that time to a prison in

Précigné Précigné () is a commune in the Sarthe ''département'' in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. Population See also *Communes of the Sarthe department The following is a list of the 352 communes of the Sarthe departm ...

. Brown was not able to secure his release for three additional months, after which he sailed for New York, where he reunited with Cummings.

Later life

Brown later became part of the bohemian circle of artists and writers in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, New York, contributing articles and reviews to magazines and journals such as ''

The New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). It was the successor to both '' The Masses'' (1911–1917) and ''The Liberator'' (1918–1924). ''New Masses'' was later merge ...

'' and ''

The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review an ...

''. These years were marked by his struggle with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

which he finally overcame in 1947. During this time he married Susan Jenkins, who was part of the

Provincetown Players The Provincetown Players was a collective of artists, people and writers, intellectuals, and amateur theater enthusiasts. Under the leadership of the husband and wife team of George Cram “Jig” Cook and Susan Glaspell from Iowa, the Players p ...

group, and they had one son, Gwilym Slater Brown (1928–1974). His daughter, Rachel Brown, was born to Esther Rosenberg in 1936. In 1957 he married Mary James (died 1987), the granddaughter of Robertson James and grandniece of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. They resided in

Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport is a seaside New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020 United States census, 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston, at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. ...

. William Slater Brown died at age 100 in 1997.

References

External links

"William Slater Brown, 100, Writer of the Lost Generation"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''
"B (William Slater Brown)"
from ''Spring: The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William Slater 1896 births 1997 deaths American men centenarians American Field Service personnel of World War I People from Greenwich Village Writers from Manhattan People from Rockport, Massachusetts People from Webster, Massachusetts American parapsychologists Writers from Massachusetts Lost Generation writers