Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1923 for her work, The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver: A Few Figs from Thistles: Eight Sonnets in American Poetry. Common themes of her work include the struggle between life and death, love, and anti-fascism. Although best known as a poet, Millay also wrote well known plays such as The Lamp and the Bell in 1921. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize, Millay was also elected to join the prestigious and highly selective National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1929.
