John Brown's Body Poem by Stephen Vincent Benét first edition 1976

John Brown's Body (1928) is an American epic poem written by Stephen Vincent Benét. The poem's title references the radical abolitionist John Brown, who raided the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in October 1859. He was captured and hanged later that year. Benét's poem covers the history of the American Civil War.[2][3] It won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1929. It was written while Benét was living in Paris after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1926.[4]