Elkanah East Taylor (1888 - August 7, 1945) was an American poet and founder of the Will-o'-the-Wisp poetry magazine.[1]
Life
Elkanah East was born in
Virginia in 1888, and as a child she contributed poetry and stories to magazines. She attended Maury High School[2] and in 1906 entered
Sweet Briar College for women[3] as part of the first freshman class.[4] She graduated from Sweet Briar and continued her studies at the
College of William and Mary where she graduated in 1919.[2] She was married to fellow William and Mary graduate[2] Edwin Jordan Taylor of
Hampton, VA,[5] and they had a son, William East Taylor.[2] Elkanah East Taylor lived in
Driver, Nansemond County, Virginia[6] for 30 years.[7]
Elkanah East Taylor was a member of many poetry organizations, and in 1925 she founded the Will-o’-the-Wisp magazine of verse.[1] In 1926, The Editor of the Literary Lantern said that the Will-o’-the-Wisp might shortly be one of the literary journals that “died to make verse free.”[8] Taylor responded directly with; “When earth’s last picture is painted, and the tubes are twisted and dried ‘Willo’-the-Wisp’ Will still be in existence.”[9] She worked as editor of the magazine for 20 years until her death.
Elkanah East Taylor died a widow in
Norfolk, VA at the age of 57 on August 7, 1945.[7] Taylor is buried at the Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk, VA.[10][11]
Organizations
State chairman of poetry for Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs