Tillie Olsen
Tillie Lerner was born in either 1912 or 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. (Her exact birthdate and year remain unknown, as her birth certificate was lost.) Her parents were Russian political refugees who had fled from Czarist oppression after the 1905 revolution, and were forced to settle for low-wage jobs and a modest life in America.
A bright child, Lerner attended Omaha Central High School, which was well-known for academic rigor. She left school without completing her studies, however, in order...