Sherwood Anderson was born in Camden, Ohio, in 1876. He grew up in the Midwest, dropping out of high school and working as a manual laborer. He volunteered for service during the Spanish-American War. After the war, he returned to school and embarked on a number of business ventures. In 1912, he suffered a "breakdown" and vanished for days. Upon his return he rededicated his life to art and writing. He wrote many novels and short stories during his life, of which the best known is Winesburg, Ohio. Mid-American Chants is his only book of poetry. He died in 1941.