Floyd James Dell was a highly versatile and influential American man of letters during the first third of the twentieth century. Working as an editor, literary critic, novelist, playwright, and poet, Dell left a lasting imprint on the American literary landscape. In Chicago, he served as the editor of the nationally syndicated Friday Literary Review, a position from which he helped shape the careers and reception of numerous major American writers of the era.
Dell later moved to New York City, where he became a central figure in the vibrant political and social movements of Greenwich Village during the 1910s and 1920s. He wrote extensively on controversial social issues of his day. As the editor of the prominent left-wing magazine The Masses, Dell's radical editorial stance and anti-war writings led to him being put on trial twice for publishing subversive literature.
Beyond his editorial and political work, Dell was a lifelong poet and a successful creative writer. He achieved commercial success as a best-selling novelist and playwright. His hit Broadway comedy, Little Accident (1928), became a major success and was subsequently adapted into a Hollywood motion picture, cementing his reputation as a versatile force in American culture.
