Sherwood Anderson was a 20th century American writer of short stories. Anderson grew up in Ohio and after college became a copywriter in Chicago. He is most famous for his collection of interrelated short stories, Winesburg Ohio, which he began writing in 1919. Poor White was published in 1920. Hugh McVey is an inventor who rises from poverty. The story is set on the banks of the Mississippi River during the years when rural America is influenced by industrialization sweeping the country.