Grace Stone Coates

Grace Stone Coates (1881-1976) was a Montana writer. She wrote short stories, novels, and poetry. Coates published her first poem, The Intruder, in 1921 and her first novel, Black Cherries, in 1931. She co-edited and wrote for Frontier, a literary magazine put out by H.G. Merriam of the University of Montana.

Childhood

On May 20, 1881, Coates was born on a wheat farm in Kansas to Heinrich and Olive Stone. She was the youngest of four children. Grace and her older sister, Helen, were born to Heinrich and Olive. The two older children were born to Heinrich and his first wife. Heinrich had a rich classical background, he taught Greek in Berlin before coming to the United States. He channeled this love into his interactions with Grace, recited poetry to her, took her on long walks to learn the names of plants and trees, and read her mythology until she could recite it from memory. Her poetry was influenced by this background.

Life in Montana

published her first poem in 1921. Originally from Kansas, Coates moved to Montana and taught school from 1904–1921, when she began writing. Her first novel Black Cherries and her first book of poetry Mead and Mangel-Wurzel came out in 1931. Coates edited and wrote for a magazine out of Northwest Montana, Frontier until it stopped circulating in 1939. During the Great Depression, Coates helped write the WPA Federal Writer's Project Montana state guidebook. She moved to a retirement home in Bozeman in 1963, where she wrote a column for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The column was named,Hillcrest Highlights, for the Hillcrest Retirement Home she was living in.

References

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External links

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