Mona Van Duyn (pronounced "Van Dine") was born in Waterloo, Iowa, on May 9, 1921, to Earl George and Lora (Kramer) Van Duyn. She grew up in Eldora, Iowa, a small town with approximately thirty-two hundred people. As a young girl, Van Duyn was an avid reader who developed an affinity for poetry at a young age. Despite keeping most of her poetry writing secret, she published her first poem when she was in the second grade.

Van Duyn attended Northern Iowa University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1942. She completed her master's degree the following year at Iowa State Teachers College, which is now the University of Northern Iowa. Also in 1943, Van Duyn married Jarvis A. Thurston. Together, the couple founded and edited Perspective: A Quarterly of Literature from 1947 through 1967.

Van Duyn published her first collection of poetry in 1959 in Valentines to the Wide World. She...