Biography of Willa Sibert Cather - 1473 Words

WILLA SIBERT CATHER BIOGRAPHY Willa Sibert Cather was born in Winchester, Virginia on December 7, 1873 to Charles and Mary Cather. Willa’s father was a deputy sheriff and farmer, and her mother was a school teacher. When Willa was nine, in 1883, her family moved to the Nebraska prairie to follow her grandparents, William and Caroline in Webster County. The prairie life was an unfamiliar landscape, which was crucial in Cather’s life. In 1888, Cather decided that she wanted to become a surgeon, during this time this career was only meant to be for males so she cut her hair and began to dress like a man. Cather was sixteen when she enrolled herself at the University of Nebraska preparatory school in 1890 to be able to attend the four-year university the next year. In 1891 Cather was a freshman at the University of Nebraska when her essay was published in the Nebraska State Journal without her knowledge. When she saw her name and essay in the Nebraska State Journal it made her realize that she wanted to be a writer. In 1895 Cather graduated from the University of Nebraska and after graduation she became a high school english and latin teacher, and editor for Home Monthly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Cather went back to the University of Nebraska in 1917 where she receive her first degree; a doctorate of letters. She also published two books, a volume of poetry and a story collection during this time. When writing for Home Monthly she wrote a short story, â€Å"A Burglar’sShow MoreRelated An Immense Career Essay example2113 Words   |  9 PagesAn Immense Career Career Willa Cather, American novelist and short-story writer, was born Willela Sibert Cather on 7 December 1873, in Back Creek Valley, Virginia, near Winchester. At nine years of age, in 1883, her family moved to Red Cloud, Nebraska. Many of her novels were set in Red Cloud. She attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and graduated in 1895. She spent a few years after college working on a newspaper, and then worked an editorial job at the magazine Home Monthly in