Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children’s poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the “poet of childhood.” He worked as a journalist for the St. Joseph Gazette in Saint Joseph, Missouri, in 1875 and soon became editor of the Gazette. He became known for his light, humorous articles written in a gossipy style. It was during this time that he wrote the famous poem “Lovers Lane” about a street in St. Joseph, Missouri.

From 1876 through 1880 Field lived in St. Louis, first as an editorial writer for the Morning Journal and subsequently for the Times-Journal. After a brief stint as managing editor of the Kansas City Times, he worked for two years as editor of the Denver Tribune.

In 1883 Field moved to Chicago where he wrote a humorous newspaper column called Sharps and Flats for the Chicago Daily News. Field first started publishing poetry in 1879, when his poem “Christmas Treasures” appeared in A Little Book of Western Verse. Over a dozen volumes of poetry followed and he became well known for his light-hearted poems for children, among the most famous of which are “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” and “The Duel”. Field also published a number of short stories, including “The Holy Cross” and “Daniel and the Devil.”