Sherwood Anderson

Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) was an American writer whose Winesburg, Ohio changed the course of the American short story. Raised in Clyde, Ohio, he worked as a laborer, soldier and advertising copywriter and managed a paint company until, in 1912, he walked out of his office and turned to writing. Winesburg, Ohio appeared in 1919, followed by the novels Poor White and Dark Laughter and the story collections The Triumph of the Egg and Horses and Men. His plain, searching style influenced Hemingway and Faulkner, both of whom he helped early. He died in Panama of peritonitis after swallowing a toothpick at a party.