Jesse Ely Wills

Jesse Ely Wills (1899–1997) was an American businessman and poet. He was the chairman of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company and the author of four poetry collections.[1] National Life was founded by his father, William Ridley Wills in 1902. Jesse Wills began working there at age 23 when he was a student at Vanderbilt University and remained with the company his entire career.[1] In 1925, the company created radio station WSM to help promote their business and built a studio on the fifth floor of their building. National Life Insurance and station WSM achieved international recognition in creating the "Grand Ole Opry " which was broadcast nationwide and became the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history.[2][3]

Jesse Ely Wills
DiedMarch 4, 1977
OccupationBusinessman, poet
ChildrenRidley Wills II
Parent(s)William Ridley Wills
RelativesWilliam Ridley Wills (cousin)

In 1922, while a student at Vanderbilt, Wills was a member of the "Fugitives", an influential literary movement.[4] The Fugitives wrote and published poetry, and included notable writers Robert Penn Warren, Allen Tate, John Crowe Ransom and Donald Davidson.[5] The group published the Fugitive Magazine between 1922 and 1925.[1] Two of the members (Warren and Tate) later became United States Poets Laureate.[6]


Selected works
  • Wills, Jesse (1973). Nashville and Other Poems. Nashville, Tennessee: Fantasie Press. OCLC 2093788.

References
  1. "Jesse Ely Wills Memorial Rites To Be Monday". The Tennessean. March 5, 1977. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved May 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Connelly, John Lawrence (August 22, 2018). "National Life and Accident Insurance Company". tennesseeencyclopedia.net. Tennessee Historical Society. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  3. "Music/Grand Ole Opry". The Radio Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  4. "Fugitives Add to Literary Honors Of Tennessee". Special Features Section (Vol. 15, No. 17). Nashville Tennessean. May 27, 1923. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  5. Malvasi, Mark G. (October 8, 2017). "The Fugitives". tennesseeencyclopedia.net. Tennessee Historical Society. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  6. "Past Poets Laureate 1937–1960". loc.gov. The Poetry and Literature Center at the U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
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