William Rose Benét (February 2, 1886 – May 4, 1950) was an American poet, writer, and editor.
He arrived at the Carmel-by-the-Sea writers' colony and stayed with, roommate and friend, Sinclair Lewis.
In 1942, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book of autobiographical verse, The Dust Which Is God (1941).
Benét is also the author of The Reader's Encyclopedia, a standard American guide to world literature.
Today he is perhaps best known as the author of "The Skater of Ghost Lake," a poem frequently assigned in American schools for its use of onomatopoeia and rhythm as well as its tone of dark mystery.