Eugene Field (1850-1895) was an American writer, best known for poetry for children and for humourous essays. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended Williams College in Massachusetts. He tried acting, and studied law with little result. He then set off for a trip through Europe, and then returned to the United States six months later penniless. Field then set to work as a journalist for the Gazette in Saint Joseph, Missouri in 1875. Soon, he rose to become city editor of the Gazette. He first started publishing poetry on the side in 1879, when his book Christian Treasures appeared. Over a dozen more volumes followed, and he became well known for his light-hearted poems for children; perhaps the best known is Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. His other works include: A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), A Little Book of Profitable Tales (1889), Echoes from the Sabine Farm (1892), Love- Songs of Childhood (1894), Songs (1896), The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac (1896) and Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse (1912).