01/26/2025
May Williams Ward was a distinguished poet. Born in Missouri in 1882, her family moved to her mother’s hometown of Osawatomie (Miami County) when she was seven. After several moves, the family eventually settled in Wellington (Sumner County). Ward published her first poem in 1921, and within four years she was nationally recognized for her talent. Her poems appeared in periodicals such as “Ladies Home Journal,” “Good Housekeeping” and “Kansas City Star.” By 1926 Ward had published 300 poems in 35 magazines. That same year she became the editor of “The Harp,” a poetry magazine published in Larned (Pawnee County). During her 50-year career, Ward published 2,000 poems and seven books. William Allen White referred to her as “the champion poet of Kansas.” Learn more about this prolific poet at www.washburn.edu/reference/cks/mapping/ward/index.html
