Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a student of American English. Mencken, known as the "Sage of Baltimore;&rdquo, is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century. <p/>Peter W. Dowell teaches English and American Studies at Emory University. He received his B.A. from Princeton University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.