Eve Merriam (July 19, 1916 – April 11, 1992) was an American poet and writer.

Writing career

Merriam's first book was the 1946 ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...

'', which won the

Yale Younger Poets Prize The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...

. Her book, ''The Inner City Mother Goose'', was described as one of the most banned books of the time.Biography of Eve Merriam at the Academy of American Poets
poets.org. Accessed November 6, 2022. It inspired a 1971

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

called ''Inner City'', later revived in 1982 under the title ''Street Dreams''. In 1956, she published ''Emma Lazarus: Woman with a Torch''. In 1981, she won the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. One of her books for children is '' Halloween ABC''. She published over 30 books, and taught at both City College and New York University. Her play '' Out of Our Father's House'', based on her book ''Growing Up Female in America'', was televised in the ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is pr ...

'' series in 1978.

Personal life

Born Eva Moskovitz in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Eve Merriam was one of four children of Russian immigrants Max Moscovitz and Jennie Siegel. After graduating with an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1937, Merriam moved to New York to pursue graduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She was married for a time to writer

Leonard C. Lewin Leonard C. Lewin (2 October 1916 – 28 January 1999) was an American writer, best known as the author of the bestseller '' The Report from Iron Mountain'' (1967). He also wrote ''Triage'' (1972), a novel about a covert group dedicated to killi ...

. She later married screenwriter

Waldo Salt Waldo Miller Salt (October 18, 1914 – March 7, 1987) was an American screenwriter who won Academy Awards for both ''Midnight Cowboy'' and '' Coming Home''. Early life and career Salt was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winifred (n ...

and was actress

Jennifer Salt Jennifer Salt is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress known for playing Eunice Tate on ''Soap'' (1977–1981). Life and career Salt was born in Los Angeles, California to screenwriter Waldo Salt and actress Mary Davenport. S ...

's stepmother.

Death

Merriam died on April 11, 1992 in Manhattan from liver cancer.

References

Core biographical material

"Eve Merriam, Poet and Author Who Wrote for Children, Is Dead,"
Bruce Lambert, ''The New York Times'', April 13, 1992. * Heffer, Helen Ruth Julian. A Checklist of Works by and about Eve Merriam. Master's thesis, University of Maryland, 1980. Includes 84-page biographical essay. * Copeland, J. S., Speaking of Poets: Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults (1993).
short biography from Wisconsin Writers' Collection at MITH

Biography at Jewish Women's Archive
* “Eve Merriam.” In

Anne Commire Anne Commire (11 August 1939 – 23 February 2012) was an American playwright and editor who frequently wrote about women's issues and struggles. Her first play, ''Shay'', about a young pregnant high school dropout, was noted by ''The New York Tim ...

, ed., ''Something About the Author'', vol. 40. Detrolt: Gale Research Co., 1985.

In other works

* Randy Shilts. ''The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life & Times of Harvey Milk'' (New York: St. Martins, 1982). * Kate Weigand. ''Red Feminism: American Communism and the Making of Women's Liberation'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001).

Archival materials

Finding Aid
for holdings related to Eve Merriam in the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Libraries Children's Literature Research Collection
Papers, 1840-1978 (inclusive), 1930-1978 (bulk): A Finding Aid.
http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles Schlesinger Library] , Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Additional papers, 1960-1984 (inclusive), 1978-1984 (bulk): A Finding Aid.
http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles Schlesinger Library] , Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Additional papers of Eve Merriam, ca.1930-1992: A Finding Aid.
http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles Schlesinger Library] , Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Audiovisual collection of Eve Merriam, 1964-1992: A Finding Aid.
http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles Schlesinger Library] , Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merriam, Eve 1916 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American poets University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from Philadelphia Writers from Manhattan Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Jewish American writers American women poets Yale Younger Poets winners 20th-century American women writers Children's poets 20th-century American Jews