Will Carleton

William McKendree Carleton (October 21, 1845 – December 18, 1912) was an American poet from Michigan. Carleton's poems were most often about his rural life.

Carleton was born on October 21, 1845, in rural Lenawee County, Hudson, Michigan, Carleton was the fifth child of John Hancock and Celeste (Smith) Carleton. In 1869, he graduated from Hillsdale College, (where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity) and delivered on that occasion the poem, "Rifts in the Cloud".

After graduating from college in 1869, Carleton first worked as a newspaper journalist in Hillsdale. He had been in the habit of writing poetry as a youngster. His first significant work published was "Betsey and I Are Out", a humorous verse about a divorce that was first printed in the Toledo Blade, and reprinted by Harper's Weekly. Carleton wrote this poem at the age of 25, when he worked as editor of the Detroit Weekly Tribune. In 1872 he published "Over the Hill to the Poor House", exploring the plight of the aged and those with indifferent families. This piece captured national attention and catapulted Carleton into literary prominence—a position he held the rest of his life as he continued to write and to lecture from coast to coast".