Ella Wheeler Wilcox Eliza Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and artist who lived from November 5, 1850, to October 30, 1919. Her poems include "Solitude" and "Poems of Passion." In "Solitude," she writes, "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep aloe." The Worlds and I, her story, came out in 1918, a year before she died. Ella Wheeler was born in 1850 on a farm in Johnstown, Wisconsin, which is east of Janesville. She was the third child and youngest of four. After losing a lot of money because her father's business plans and speculations didn't work out, the family moved north of Madison. Wilcox's family thought of themselves as smart, and they valued being able to use the English language to its fullest. In her childhood, Wilcox liked to pass the time by reading newspapers and books. These may have had an effect on the writing she did later, especially William Shakespeare, The Arabian Nights, The Diverting History of John Gilpin, and Gulliver's Travels, along with the few other books she had at home. Read More Read Less