Born in Chatham Center, Ohio, Edith Thomas was a poet of national recognition during her lifetime, with periodicals such as The Atlantic Monthly publishing her verse. Thomas was greatly influenced by the book of Helen Hunt Jackson entitled A Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Government’s Dealing with Some of the Indian Tribes (1900). In fact, Jackson was the one who encouraged Thomas to publish her poems beyond local periodicals.

–Christie Finn