Eugene Field was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the "poet of childhood". Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, followed by the University of Missouri in Columbia. He studied with little success and then set to work as a journalist.
Field first started publishing poetry in 1879, when his poem "Christmas Treasures" appeared in A Little Book of Western Verse. Over a dozen volumes of poetry followed and he became well known for his light-hearted poems for children, among the most famous of which are "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and "The Duel". He also published a number of short stories.
(source: wikipedia)