Edgar Lee Masters was a poet and novelist born in the late 1800s. He is best known for his famous 1915 publication of Spoon River Anthology, a compilation of 244 free verse epitaphs told from the grave by the former inhabitants, real and imagined, of Spoon River, a small fictional town. Spoon River's 244 deceased residents have a story to tell of their victories, hardships and secrets. The masters rose to fame by revealing the secret lives and loves of small-town residents, told through their own voices from beyond the grave in American poetry. It was a sensitive subject and an innovative method. One of the Master's poems is “Ruben Pantier”. He was a troubled young man raised in an abnormal family who did not understand the message of his former teacher, Emily Sparks, in her teachings until later in life. The poem begins with Reuben speaking to his former teacher Emily Sparks. “I owe everything I have been in life / To your hope that would not abandon me, / To your love that always saw me as good.” (Ins 3-5) Ruben admits to not being “good”. Despite this, he was ...