“The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor” (Willa Cather Quotes). This is a famous quotes from a very well-know American author from the modernism writing period, Willa Cather. She has received a lot of recognition for her novels that are written about life on the Great Plains. Some of her most famous pieces of work included O’Pioneer (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Antonia (1918). A lot of her work was inspired by her childhood and her life. Many of the characters in her stories were people that she had met in her childhood. In her novel My Antonia, the main character “Antonia” is inspired by a childhood friend Annie Sadilek while in The Song of the Lark, Thea Kronborg was portrayed by another childhood friend, Olive Fremstad. Cather's childhood and all-American upbringing made her a relatable and authentic storyteller (Willa Cather Biography).
Willa Cather was born in Back Creek Valley in Virginia on December 7, 1873. Her parents were Charles and Mary Virginia Boak Cather (Willa Cather Biography). Willa had six younger siblings: Roscoe, Douglass, Jessica, James, John, and Elsie (Lewis). …show more content…
Her work did not go unappreciated. She earned several awards such as the Pulitzer Award, the Prix Femina Americain, and a National Institute of Arts and Letters gold medal (My Antonia). Cather made a giant impact on what we know today as “American Literature.” She wrote about her childhood and living on the frontier. With having some of her own personal experiences and childhood friends, her readers were able to relate to her work easier than others. She also tested the social norms of the time by being a transgender lesbian when that was not a popular idea. Even though Willa Cather is no longer here with us today, her impact on literature will continue on for many years to