Grayson Lawton, Violet

Born in her grandparent's bedroom on October 11, 1925, in the village of Lonsdale, in the town of Cumberland, Rhode island, Violet Grayson Lawton says of her writing, "My star rose early. At the age of fourteen, I wrote a poem and a rather dismal short story which I sent to Collier's Magazine. They rejected it, but I redeemed my pride by winning a school-wide essay contest at Cumberland high School. I was also made an at-large reporter for the school newsletter, "The Chronicle".

In my senior year, I served as Literary Editor for our year book. One of my teachers wanted to switch to the col...