Powell, Dawn (1896-1965), was an American author noted for her humorous and satirical novels. Powell wrote about two contrasting worlds, small town Ohio and sophisticated New York City. Powell did not achieve great recognition during her lifetime and was almost forgotten at the time of her death. However, she was rediscovered in the late 1900’s and elevated to a position as an important comic writer in American literature.
During her career, Powell wrote 16 novels as well as 10 plays and many short stories. Critics especially have praised her witty and exuberant novels about the literary and entertainment life in New York City, particularly in Greenwich Village, where she lived for many years. Powell’s New York City novels include Turn, Magic Wheel (1936), Angels on Toast (1940), The Wicked Pavilion (1954), and The Golden Spur (1962). Powell’s fiction about Ohio, where she was born, is more melancholy, as in her autobiographical novel My Home Is Far Away (1944). Her short stories were collected in Sunday, Monday, and Always (1952).
Powell was born on Nov. 28, 1896, in Mount Gilead, Ohio. She had an unhappy childhood and left home at the age of 13 to live with an aunt. Powell moved to New York City in 1918 and became a free-lance writer. She died on Nov. 14, 1965.
