Eve Merriam

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, which won the Yale Younger Poets Prize.

Her book, The Inner City Mother Goose, was described as one of the most banned books of the time. In 1981 she won the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. She published a total of 88 books.

Personal life

Born as Eva Moskovitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was married for a time to writer Leonard C. Lewin. She later married screenwriter Waldo Salt and was actress Jennifer Salt's stepmother.

Death

Merriam died on April 11, 1992 in Manhattan from cancer. She was 76 when she died.

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 biographcial 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
• Anne Commire, ed. “Eve Merriam.” In 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 Libraries Children's Literature Research Collection
• Holdings in The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, at Radcliffe. See
  • Finding Aids for papers, additional papers, further papers
  • Finding Aids for audiovisual materials