Walter Benton

American writer Walter Benton was born in Austria (now Western Ukraine/Polish Galicia) to Russian parents. Benton's father emigrated to the United States in 1913, and young Walter and the rest of the family joined him there eight years later. During the Great Depression, Benton worked various odd jobs and earned a BA from Ohio University. Afterward, he was employed as a social investigator by New York City and then served in the United States Army during World War II. After the war he returned to his job in New York City while pursuing a career as a writer.

Benton was the author of two poetry collections: This is My Beloved (1943) and Never a Greater Need (1948). His work was published in Poetry magazine, the Yale Review, Saturday Review of Literature, Esquire, the New Republic, and several other publications.