McGinley, Phyllis - Introduction

McGinley, Phyllis 1905–1978

An American poet, author of children's books, essayist, lyricist, screenplay writer, and editor, McGinley is best known for her light verse. Her technical skill combined with wise insights into everyday living save her poetry from sentimentalism. She gained an appreciative readership with Six Pence in Her Shoe, autobiographical essays on the satisfactions of being a wife and mother in suburban America. In 1961 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Times Three: Selected Verse from Three Decades. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.; obituary, Vols. 75-80.)