Edgar LEE Masters was an American poet, novelist, and dramatist. He is best known for his 1915 poetry collection Spoon River Anthology, which depicted the lives of the inhabitants of a small town in the Midwest. He also wrote novels, short stories, and plays. His most famous work is the novel LEE, which was published in 1916. Masters was born in Garnett, Kansas in 1868 and died in 1950. He is remembered as one of the most important figures in American literature.