Born in Baltimore in 1895, Root graduated from Amherst College and completed post-graduate studies at the University of Missouri and Andover Theological Seminary. He was appointed to his position as Professor of English at Earlham College shortly before World War I. He did not enter the political fray with his prose until late in his career, and, given the prevailing intellectual climate of the time, it’s not surprising that his books did not receive favorable treatment in the press or in scholarly circles. Retiring to New England in the early 1960s, Root began a new career as editor of several literary and poetry journals that shared his political and religious philosophies. Even in his 70s he retained the vitality, adventuresome spirit, and upbeat outlook on life for which he had always been known.