Anne Mary Lawler

Who is Anne Mary Lawler?

Anne Mary Lawler was an Irish American poet and novelist.

Born in Philadelphia, Anne Mary Lawler was a nationally syndicated poet whose daily poems appeared in the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper from 1932 until 1942. During this time she wrote over 3,000 poems most of which were carried in the Philadelphia area and syndicated to other newspapers within the United States and the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The Ledger Syndicate coordinated the distribution of Anne Mary Lawler’s poetry and they were an affiliate of the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper. During this time she also wrote feature articles for the Public Ledger and in her personal time wrote radio scripts, short stories and novelettes.

Anne Mary Lawler’s most famous poem was titled “October” first appeared in the classic book 1st edition “The American Book of Days” by author George William Douglas, and published by H. W. Wilson and Company in 1937. Her poems within this 1937 book introduced the monthly chapters of January, February, April, June, August, and October and November.

In 1938 Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth compiled and selected poetry for their book “The Desk Drawer Anthology - Poems for the American People.” Published by Doubleday. In this book Anne Mary Lawler’s famous poem “Lines for Insomnia” appeared on page 185.