Floyd James Dell (June 28, 1887 – July 23, 1969) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, literary critic, novelist, playwright, and poet.

A lifelong poet, he was also a best-selling author, as well as a playwright whose hit Broadway comedy, Little Accident (1928),[2] was made into a Hollywood movie.

Encouraged by his mother, a former school teacher, Dell became a voracious reader, spending much of his time at Quincy's local library.

[citation needed] In 1903 Dell moved with his family to Davenport, Iowa, which was then a liberal and cosmopolitan port city and center of trade with a thriving literary and intellectual scene.

By the time Dell left Davenport for Chicago in 1908, he had escaped blue-collar life to emerge as a promising young professional writer and intellectual.

"[5] Dell used his position as editor to introduce many Americans to modernist literature and promote the work of many Chicago writers, including Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, and Carl Sandburg.

Relocating to New York City in 1913, Dell became a leader of the pre-war bohemian community in Greenwich Village and managing editor of Max Eastman's radical magazine The Masses.

"[6] Following the passing of the Espionage Act of 1917, the government officially labeled The Masses "treasonable material" in August of that year and issued charges against its staff for "unlawfully and willfully… obstruct[ing] the recruiting and enlistment of the United States" military.

Dell joined fellow Davenporters Susan Glaspell and George Cram Cook as a member of the Provincetown Players and his play King Arthur's Socks was the first performed by that historic theater group.