Janet Tyler Flanner, like all of us, was a product of her early family life. She had a prominent father, an artistic mother, and came from Quakers who were progressive social thinkers. As a child she sat on the knee of civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, who was staying in the family’s home. She received the best education possible in Indianapolis at Tudor Hall. She was able to travel to Europe. When she struck out on her own, she was well equipped to prosper. And prosper, she did, despite the struggles of trying to make it as a writer.

Some say her heroic 50-year run as a columnist for The New Yorker was due to a unique radar that saw beyond obvious perception. Janet said, “I act as a sponge. I soak it up and squeeze it out in ink every two weeks.”

Janet became a force as both an international personality in the world of arts and as a writer about current events. This website serves as a launching pad to discover what made her tick and why her legacy lives on long after her death (1978).

-           The Family of Janet Flanner