Charles Eugene Banks (April 3, 1852 – April 30, 1932) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, author, novelist, poet, playwright, historian, and orator. Considered a mentor of the Davenport Group of writers in Iowa, he later moved to Seattle. There he was an editor of the '' Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' newspaper. He retired to Hawaii.

Biography

Banks was born to Seth Lee and Sarah M. Banks at

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

Clinton County, Iowa Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,460. Its county seat is Clinton. Its name is in honor of the seventh Governor of New York State, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton County compris ...

. Raised on a farm, he was educated by his mother for several years before attending public schools. As a poetically-inclined traveling shoe salesman, Banks began his professional writing career with submissions to a regionally distributed trade journal. He eventually found writing work in Chicago, wherein 1892 he married actress Carrie Wyatt Lounsbury."Charles Eugene Banks", ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography Volume XIV''. New York: James T White & Company, 1910. pp99. Print. Banks returned to Iowa with his wife, and in

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality * Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

, started a journal. There he mentored several young writers, who became known as the Davenport group, including

Susan Glaspell Susan Keating Glaspell (July 1, 1876 – July 28, 1948) was an American playwright, novelist, journalist and actress. With her husband George Cram Cook, she founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company. First known ...

, George Cram Cook, and Floyd Dell. Banks later moved to Seattle, Washington, where he worked as an editor for the '' Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' newspaper. He retired to Hawaii. Banks was widowed in 1926. In 1932 he was struck by an automobile and died. His close personal friend, noted attorney Clarence Darrow, delivered Banks' eulogy and served as executor of his estate. According to his obituary, Banks left no surviving offspring.

References

External links

Poetry Collections
Full text
of ''Quiet Music'' (1892)
Full text
of ''Where Brooks Go Softly'' (1893) {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Charles Eugene 1852 births 1932 deaths Writers from Clinton, Iowa Writers from Davenport, Iowa Poets from Iowa American male poets American poets