Walden, Selma, 1884-1951

Self-educated Chicago working woman; writer of poetry, prose, and correspondence.

Born of Swedish immigrant parents in 1884 in Michigan, and educated in shorthand and typing at the Ferris Institute, Selma Walden sought work in Chicago in the early 1900's. She married George Lee Lincoln in 1909, had three children, and divorced her husband in 1929. After her divorce she became involved in the Chicago literary and intellectual life, participating for a few years in the Seven Arts Club and the Dill Pickle Club, writing fiction and poetry, and corresponding with local literary figures. She published a few poems in newspapers and magazines, and privately published a volume of poetry in 1945. Walden's literary output was achieved despite the fact that during the Depression years she was the sole support of her children, and after 1942, of three of her grandchildren, Jimmy, Rose, and George Sheridan.