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Katherine Anne Porter

Kathrine Anne Porter
April 1965, Spring Vally, Washington D.C.
By Paul Porter.



Parlor Figure Name:Katherine Anne Porter
Born Callie Russell Porter

Birth-Death:May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980

Residence:Born in Indian Creek, TX
She has also lived in Louisiana, Colorado, Mexico, and throughout parts of Europe. 1

Occupation: Singer, Actress, Writer

What’s this person best known for? Katherine Anne Porter is best known for her Pulitzer Prize winning fiction writing.

Race/Ethnicity/Religion (if important): Converted to Catholicism to appease an abusive husband.1

Politics: Porters earliest political activities were feminism and socialism. Reportedly she published a defense of women’s suffrage at age 14, converted to socialism at 15, and took on all social and political problems when she was 18. 2
Porter continually switch sides throughout her life at a very young age she spoke out for women's suffrage rights despising the term "feminist" and preferring to be called h a "modernist". During the twenties and early thirties Porter aligned herself with leftist radicals and communist, and then late thirties she choose to affiliate herself with more rightest radicals wishing to restore herself to more southern traditional ways in religion, economics, and values. 5


Beliefs about relation between art and politics (if applicable): Quote: “I look forward to a world in which the artist has his place as useful being, not for political purposes, but in his true function, which is that of a finder, a bringer, giver of new forms of expression based on life, but seen with imagination and creativeness.” 2

Major Activities in the 1930s: During the most part of 1930s Porter lived in Mexico and Europe there she witnessed many of the atrocities of It wasn’t until the summer of 1936 did she accept her first writers retreat in the United States it was during this time that Porter began her work on Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Porter then moved to New Orleans and married her fifth husband. 1

Major Works (include dates and place of publication where applicable): The Flowering Judas, New York, Hound and Horn, 1930; novel
Pale Horse Pale Rider, New York, 1939, novellas

Places where figure’s work often appears (magazines, radio, nightclubs, galleries): Her literary works have been published in news papers, magazines, as well as in a variety of short story and novel collections.

Organizations s/he belongs to, causes s/he supports: While in Mexico Porter was a card carrying member of the PCM or Communist Party of Mexico, although it is not quite known how involved she was with the party.5
Upon her return to States in 1936 Porter became affiliated with a group of fellow southern writers known as the Agrarians.5

Best sound bites by or about this figure, including source (if this person is a writer, you must include a quote by him or her): "I have a great deal of religious symbolism in my stories because I have a very deep sense of religion and also I have a religious training. And I suppose you don't say, 'I'm going to have the flowering judas tree stand for betrayal,' but of course it does." 3

Was this person a popular or critical success? No, she is mostly overlooked in comparison to other writers of her day.

Any Gossip? Multiple failed marriages, miscarriages, and stillbirths.4

Fun Facts to Know and Tell:Porter was married over five times with men as young 20 years her junior. It was rumored that Porter was briefly married American poet Hart Crane who ultimately committed suicide.4

Titles of the 1-3 “texts” (writing, photos, songs, etc.) by this person you’ll discuss in your paper (include date and place of publication, if applicable):
1. The Flowering Judas; New York: Modern Library, 1930
2. Pale Horse, Pale Rider; New York, Harcourt, Brace and Co. 1939

What primary research have you done?I have delved into the many critical reviews and articles written about Porters personal life and professional career. As well as reviewing correspondent between Porter and friends.


Connections with other parlor figures:
Porter was a contributor to The New Republic at the time Malcolm Cowley was editor, she was also close friends with his wife Peggy Cowley.
During her stay in Mexico Porter became close friends with Diego Rivera and attempted to sell some of his work in the United States before he was known outside of Mexico.5


1. Janis P. Stout. "Porter, Katherine Anne"; http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-02186.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.
2. Unrue, D. (1993). Katherine Anne Porter, politics, and another reading of `Theft'. Studies in Short Fiction, 30(2), 119. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
3. Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 7: Early Twentieth Century - Katherine Anne Porter." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap7/porter.html ( 9 September 2011 ).
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Anne_Porter
5.Stout, J.P. (1995) Katherine Anne Porter: A Sense of the Times. Virginia: University Press of Virginia.

John Steinbeck

Parlor Figure Name: John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr

Birth-Death: February 27, 1902 - December 20, 1968

Residence: Pacific Groove, California during the 1930s.

Occupation: American novelist, story writer, playwright, and essayist.

What’s this person best known for? John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. He also won the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath, a novel widely considered to be a twentieth-century classic. (1)

Race/Ethnicity/Religion: German and Irish descent.

Politics: New Deal Liberals, left wing. Steinbeck fought for the rights of the american migrant workers by bringing attention to them through his novels. These migrant workers and their lives were the basis and background of many of his acclaimed novels and articles he wrote for newspaper.

Beliefs about relation between art and politics:

The role of the artist is to become "merely a recording consciousness, judging nothing, simply putting down the thing." Steinbeck's writings are not intended to support any political party. (5)

Major Activities in the 1930s:

• Edward Ricketts and John Steinbeck wrote a book together titled The Log from the Sea. (1)
• During the decade of 1930s, Steinbeck wrote many novels with a theme of social history. He wrote Tortilla Flat (1935), In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), The Long Valley (1938), and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). (1)
• Steinbeck belonged to the organization called The League of American Writers. He was present at union strikes and meetings. (1)

Major Works:

Tortilla Flat (1935)

In Dubious Battle (1936)

Of Mice and Men (1937)

The Grapes of Wrath (1939)

East of Eden (1952)

Places where figure’s work often appears (magazines, radio, nightclubs, galleries):

In 1936, John Steinbeck wrote seven articles for "The San Francisco News." Later, he published them in The Harvest of Gypsies: on the road of the Grapes of Wrath, which was added the photographs of Dorothea Lange.

Organizations he belongs to, causes he supports:

Organizations he belonged to include The League of a American Writers, The Simon J. Lubin Society, and The John Steinbeck Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization. (5)

Best sound bites by or about this figure, including source:

"Maybe the hardest thing in writing is simply to tell the truth about things as we see them." Steinbeck (3)

"Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power." Steinbeck (3)

"Socialism never took in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." Steinbeck (3)

"Our people are good people; our people are kind people. Pray God some day kind people won't all be poor." Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath) (3)

Was this person a popular or critical success? He was both popular and critical success.

Any Gossip? None

Fun Facts to Know and Tell:

Steinbeck and his wife Carol bought two ducks to stock the fishpond at their Pacific Groove cottage. The ducks were sold later to purchase writing paper for To a God Unknown. (2)

Carol wrote and published humorous poetry under the name Amnesia Glasscock. (2)

Titles of the 1-3 “texts” by this person you’ll discuss in your paper:

1. Harvest Gypsies: on the road to the Grapes of Wrath (1936)

2. In Dubious Battle (1936)

3. Of Mice and Men (1937)

What primary research have you done?

I found analysis of the three texts in New York Times (Historical), and photographs Steinbeck's life in AP Images.

Major influences on this person’s work:

Edward Ricketts, Ella Winter, Lincoln Steffens, and Carol Henning Steinbeck. (1, 4)

Steinbeck had a long and deep friendship with Edward Ricketts, a marine biologist. (1)

Carol Steinbeck was first Steinbeck's wife. She was also a writer and edited some of Steinbeck's works.

Lincoln Steffens and his wife Ella Winter mentored John Steinbeck. (1)

Connections with other parlor figures:

a. Friends, people who work together, people in the same circle:

Harvest Gypsies was published with the photographs taken by Dorothea Lange.

Pascal Covici was Steinbeck's publisher. (5)

b. political or artistic allies:

Will Rogers and John Steinbeck had similar views during 1930s.

Granville Hicks

c. political or artistic opponents:

Mary McCarthy said that Steinbeck was a bad and dishonest writer. (5)

d. other connections:

Charlie Chaplin was a hollywood fan of Steinbeck's works. They became friends.

Works Cited

1. "John Steinbeck." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 7 Sep 2011. Wikimedia Foundation. 11 Sep 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck
2. "John Steinbeck's Career and Books." Oprah. Oprah's Book Club, 03 September 2008. Web. 11 Sep 2011.
3. "John Steinbeck> Quotes." goodreads. Goodreads Inc. Web. 11 Sep 2011
4. Shillinglaw, Susan. "Steinbeck, John." Feb 2000. American National Biography. Web. 11 Sep 2011.
5. Steinbeck, John. In Dubious Battle. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. Print.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Birth-Death:

July 21, 1899 - July 2, 1961

Residence (city, state, or region):

Born in Oak Park, Illinois. Died in Ketchum, Idaho. Lived in Paris, Madrid, and Key West in between.

Occupation:

Author/Journalist

What’s this person best known for?

Ernest Hemingway is best known in the literary world for his distinct writing style and his adventurous personality. He is considered one of the classics of American literature.

Race/Ethnicity/Religion (if important):

Caucasian American

Politics:

Hemingway was not actively involved in politics.

Major Activities in the 1930s:

Ernest Hemingway spent the majority of the 1930s summering in Wyoming and spending his winters fishing in Key West, Florida. In 1936, Hemingway went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War.

Major Works (include dates and place of publication where applicable):

The Sun Also Rises (1926)

A Farewell To Arms (1929)

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)

The Old Man and the Sea (1951)

Places where figure’s work often appears (magazines, radio, nightclubs, galleries):

The majority of Ernest Hemingway's works can be found in libraries and bookstores, as well as in American literature textbooks.

Organizations s/he belongs to, causes s/he supports:

During World War I, Hemingway showed support by joining the Red Cross and drove an ambulance. During the Spanish Civil War, he worked as a war correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance.

Best sound bites by or about this figure, including source (if this person is a writer, you must include a quote by him or her):

"A man can be destroyed but not defeated"

"All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn"

Was this person a popular or critical success?

Ernest Hemingway is considered one of the greatest classic American authors and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

Any Gossip?

During World War II, Hemingway was closely monitored by the FBI because of his alleged contact with Fidel Castro. In fact, Castro respected Hemingway's fishing abilities since he frequented the fishing holes around Cuba.

Fun Facts to Know and Tell:

Fidel Castro gave much praise to Ernest Hemingway for his fishing skills, not literary skills.

Titles of the 1-3 “texts” (writing, photos, songs, etc.) by this person you’ll discuss in your paper (include date and place of publication, if applicable):

1. The Sun Also Rises (1926)

2. A Farewell To Arms (1929)

3. For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)

What primary research have you done?
Have researched books, newspaper clips, and photographs that are accessible through the TCU library.

Connections with other parlor figures:

Hemingway formed a "fishing crew" while in Key West that included Waldo Pierce, John Dos Pasos and Max Perkins.

Works Cited:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway

Baker, Carlos (1972). Hemingway: The Writer as Artist (4th ed.). Princeton University Press.

Fiedler, Leslie (1975). Love and Death in the American Novel. New York: Stein and Day.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/ernest_hemingway.html

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ernest+hemingway&aq=f

Father Charles Edward Coughlin

Parlor Figure Name: Father Charles Edward Coughlinn

Birth-Death: October 25, 1891 - October 27, 1979

Residence: Born Canada. Father Coughlin joined the Detroit diocese, becoming the pastor at St. Therese of Lisieux also known as the National Shrine of the Little Flower. (1)

Occupation: Father Coughlin was ordained into the priesthood in 1916 after which he joined the National Shrine of the Little Flower as their priest.(2) During his tenure in the 1930's Father Coughlin became an influential voice in politics by promoting issues such as social justice. In doing so Father Coughlin, began to illustrate the importance of religion in the realm of politics. Father Coughlin's use of the new medium of radio allowed him to maintain himself as relevant and ubiquitous voice in a nation exploring new horizons in communication. This new found influence allowed him to take on various political endeavors.
Catholic priest as well as a founder of the National Union for Social Justice, founder of the Union Party. Radio talk show host and publisher of the periodical Social Justice.

What’s this person best known for? Father Coughlin is known for his nationally syndicated program of which has been said that "on a balmy Sunday afternoon one could walk down the streets of many an American city and never miss a word of his weekly radio broadcast"(2). Father Coughlin was initially a supporter of  Frankling D. Roosevelt's New Deal, helping coin the phrase "Roosevelt or Ruin".(3) He later opposed FDR's economic and poltical ideas deeming them to be too friendly to bankers. Father Coughlin began to use his radio program to speak against bankers, FDR and Jews, who he believed were behind the financial disaster.(4) Such commentary on his part forced many of the radio stations to try to limit or cancel his broadcast and airtime. He was later required to submit written transcripts in advance for censorship.

Race/Ethnicity/Religion : Catholic

Politics: Out of frustration with the actions of FDR, Father Coughlin formed the Union Party. Father Coughlin had a disdain for "the international banker, the international Jew and international communism" (5) Father Coughlin believed in nationalizing certain industries and waged war specifically against the Federal Reserve. Father Coughlin supported Huey Long until his assassination. Father Coughlin was often associated with the populist movement.

Major Activities in the 1930s: During the 1930's Father Coughlin was mainly involved with radio program, in which he spoke against many thing. This would be his main occupation until radio stations on which his show was syndicated began asking for transcripts in advance in an effort to censor him. 

Major Works (include dates and place of publication where applicable):

 -A series of lectures on social justice, by the Rev. Chas. E. Coughlin ... broadcast over a national network. Royal Oak, Mich., The Radio League of the Little Flower, 1935

 

Places where figure’s work often appears (magazines, radio, nightclubs, galleries): Father Coughlin appeared on the radio until 1940 when his antisemitic views began to be looked down upon and his isolationist views made him seem unpatriotic in the eyes of many. Father Coughlin was mentioned by Woody Guthrie in his song Lindbergh which talked about facism.

Organizations s/he belongs to, causes s/he supports: Father Coughlin was a Catholic Priest who formed the Union Party out of his unhappiness with FDR policies. He was antisemitic. Father Coughlin is often labeled a populist, he was vehemently opposed to communism.

Best sound bites by or about this figure, including source (if this person is a writer, you must include a quote by him or her): 

Was this person a popular or critical success? Father Coughlin was popular at the height of his radio broadcast due to his anti government, anti banker and populist beliefs. His antisemitic views were controversial and were not supported by the Vatican or Cardinals. 

       

What primary research have you done?

(1) http://www.shrinechurch.com/history/history_001.htm

(2) Warren, Donald. Radio Priest: Charles Coughlin, The Father of Hate Radio.Free Press.1996

(3) Titusville Herald. Titusville, Pennsylvania. Friday, January 19, 1934. Page 4

(4) Oelwein Daily Register. Oelwein, Iowa. Wednesday, December 14, 1938.Page 2

(5) The Wisconsin Magazine of History. Facism and Father Coughlin. Vol. 44, No.1, Autumn, 1960. 

Woody Guthrie

(1)

Woody Guthrie (July 14, 1912- October 3, 1967) spent his life singing, songwriting and advocating for the rights of the common man and the Communist party.

Residence (city, state, or region): 
Guthrie grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, facing hard times through the death of his mother and sister. He watched his town rise and fall with the oil boom before he was forced to move to Pampa, Texas in 1933 due to dry seasons and a lack of work. When the dust storms continued, Guthrie moved out to California and later to New York for work purposes. (6)

Occupation:  
He worked as a folk singer, song writer, and radio personality. He also dabbled in newspaper writing and sketching. (3)

What’s this person best known for?
 Guthrie was best known for writing hundreds of folksongs and his willingness to speak the truth on controversial issues.

Politics: 
He was left-oriented and openly connected to Communist society. (2) However, he was never an official member of the CPUSA and was instead considered by most to be a "Fellow Traveler". (6) He believed in being a voice for the disenfranchised and supporting the rights of the common man. (3)

Beliefs about relation between art and politics: 
He believed that art could promote social change and should make people feel better about themselves and the world. (3)

Major Activities in the 1930s: 
During the early 30s, Woody moved to Pampa, Texas and married his wife Mary Jennings. It was here that he was in his first band and began to consider himself a musician. (3) Around 1935, Woody began rambling along the open road to California in search of work. It was here that he wrote many of his earliest songs, often themed for protesting. He was given a column called "Woody Sez" in "The Daily Worker" which was known for its leftist support at the time. (6) He also worked for KFVD as an extremely popular radio personality, though his controversial views and willingness to speak his mind ultimately led to his firing. 

Major Works (include dates and place of publication where applicable): 
Two of his most popular works were "The Dust Bowl Ballads" in 1940 and "This Land is Your Land" in 1940.

Places where figure’s work often appears (magazines, radio, nightclubs, galleries): 
His songs and writings are still kept in the National Library of Congress. In his home town there is also an annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival and many folk radio stations continue to play his music. (4) Today, we continue to hear his influence through the works of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, along with the many others that continue to draw inspiration from and even cover his songs. (6)

Organizations he belongs to, causes he supports: 
He was not a member of the Communist party but was strongly involved and publicly supportive of them. He was even known to live in a neighborhood of Communists known as "Red Hill." (6) In New York in 1940, Guthrie also joined with a group of his good friends and fellow folk singers to form "The Almanacs". This group used their music to promote unions, anti-fascism,the Communist party and peace. (3)

Best sound bites by or about this figure, including source (if this person is a writer, you must include a quote by him or her): 

 

"I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim too ugly or too this or too that. Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard traveling.

I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood. I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built. I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work." (3)

Was this person a popular or critical success? 
 Yes, Woody enjoyed popularity for both his music and radio performances, especially within Communist circles. He also was extremely popular on the radio in the "Hoovervilles" and migrant camps of California. Guthrie's Oklahoma upbringing gave listeners a sense of home and comfort and he embraced his role as an "outsider" with them. He hoped to promote truth and justice for these same people through his work. (3) He has had many albums remade and rereleased since his death due to his popularity in the folk market. Tributes have been made to honor him in the Smithsonian and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also, in 2008 and 2010, previously unrecorded concert tracks won Woody Guthrie a Grammy for "Best Historical Album" (6)

Fun Facts to Know and Tell : 
John Steinbeck was sometimes called "the Woody Guthrie of American authors." (4) 

Ironically, Sarah Lee Guthrie, the granddaughter of Woody, is married to the Johnny Irion, the great nephew of John Steinbeck! The couple started their own band that is a cross between pop and folk music. 

Also, Woody was affectionately nicknamed "The Dustbowl Troubadour." 

Titles of the 1-3 “texts” (writing, photos, songs, etc.) by this person you’ll discuss in your paper (include date and place of publication, if applicable):

1. Dust Bowl Blues

2. This Land Us Your Land

3. All You Fascists

What primary research have you done?

 I have researched through the TCU Library Encyclopedia Database and also the Performing Arts Database. I have also researched lyrics written by Woody Guthrie himself and heard recordings of his songs.

Connections with other parlor figures:

a. Friends, people who work together, people in the same circle: Aliza Greenblatt- a Yiddish poet, Pete Steeger- a fellow folk-singer, and Stetson Kennedy- a writer and political activist.

b. political or artistic allies: John Steinbeck- a writer who also supported the Communist party as a non-member and worked for fair treatment of migrant workers in California. Woody would've also appreciated Ernest Hemingway's belief that "fascism is a lie." Like Guthrie and Steinbeck, Malcolm Cowley also retained leftist views without being a member of the Communist party.

c. political or artistic opponents: Mill Lampell, fellow folk-singer and onetime group member with Guthrie. (5) Probably Father Charles Edward Coughlin if they had known each other, due to his anti-Semitic views.

Works Cited

1. "Woody Guthrie Archives Yield Materials For Marketing".  Jeffrey, Don. Billboard- The International News Weekly of Music, Video, and Home Entertainment 111.34. 21 August 1999. 49-50. Proquest. Web. 08 September 2011

2. "Woody Guthrie" Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 2008. Web.

3. The Official Website of Woody Guthrie. Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. 2000. Web. 09 September 2011. 

4. "Black Keys Join Tribute to Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck and the American Spirit" http://www.pluginmusic.com/news/archive.php?id=3760. 5 September 2008. npag. Web. 13 September 2011. 

5.Cray, Ed.. "A Desperate Little Man." Ramblin' man: the life and times of Woody Guthrie. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004. 229. Print.

6. "Woody Guthrie." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>.

Malcolm Cowley

Malcolm Cowley

was born on August 28, 1898 in Belasco, Pennsylvania and died on March 27, 1989. Cowley was a left-wing American journalist who wrote novels, poetry, and literary criticisms (1)

Residence:

Cowley grew up in Pittsburgh. At 17 he left for Boston to attend Harvard University, but later dropped of school and moved to Paris in 1917 to serve in the American Field Service. Two years later he came back to finish his degree at Harvard, and after graduation went back to live in Pairs with his wife of the time Peggy Baird (5). Cowley returned to the US in 1923 to live in Greenwich Village, New York. Cowley divorced Baird in 1931 and lived with Hart Crane in Mexico for a stint. Crane committed suicide, and two months later Cowley was remarried to Muriel Maurer (7). Cowley and Maurer eventually settled down in Sherman, Connecticut (5). 

Occupation: 

Writer

What’s this person best known for?

Chronicler of the "Lost Generation" of post-World War I writers (2) and his involvement in radical politics (7).

Race/Ethnicity/Religion (if important):

White, American

Politics:

*Left-wing (5)

*driven toward "Marxian criticism" (8)

*embraced radical politics (5)

Beliefs about relation between art and politics (if applicable):

While living in Pairs after returning from WW l, Cowley was introduced to revolutionary art movements like Surrealism and Dadaism (2). 

In ch 16 (Rebels, Artists, and Scoundrels") of his book And I Worked at the Writer's Trade (9) Cowley says this: "Artists who succeed are strong characters, which is something different from saying they are saintly. Some of them--most of them?--do scandalous and even scoundrelly things." 

Faulkner comments on this statement saying, "They hold to a sensibility that is at once full of self-centeredness and self-abnegation. Their interest is not necessarily in art-for-its-own-sake (Cowley calls Hemingway, Frost, and Proust to mind), but in both masking and presenting a life involved with the making of art." (3) 

"But I feel that, whatever reservations there are to be made about the whole alliance between art and politics, one should make these at a time, and in a spirit, when they can be made for purposes of enlightenment, and not when the writing os such stuff is just one last final bit of the same sort of tactics, angling for position, etc." - Malcolm Cowley (8). 

Major Activities in the 1930s:

His correspondence letters between him and other writers during the 1930's established "him as the spider in an extensive web of literary, political, and intellectual relations." (5)

Literary editor of The New Republic 

In 1939, he was awarded the Harriet Monroe Memorial Prize for verse printed in Poetry. (6)

1932 removed from Kentucky by the government when he and 12 other writers had gone to distribute food to the needy miners on strike. (13)

Wrote Exile's Return and Blue Juniata

1934 arrested for picketing for a strike of Macaulay Book Company (11)

1935 went to prison after being removed from Ward Liner Oriente with other members of the League of American Writers (12)

1932 signed statement to peacefully assemble and petition Congress (10)

Major Works (include dates and place of publication where applicable):

 Blue Juniata (1929) early book of poetry

Exile's Return (1934) autobiography

The Dream of Golden Mountains (1934)

Places where figure’s work often appears (magazines, radio, nightclubs, galleries):

The Pittsburgh Gazette (while he was on the Western Front reporting on the war)

Assistant Editor of The New Republic  (1929)

Wrote several novels 

Letters of correspondence between him and other noteworthy writers of the time

Organizations & causes:

America's "Lost Generation"

The New Republic 

League of American Writers established in 1935 (VP but resigned in 1940)

Best sound bites by or about this figure, including source (if this person is a writer, you must include a quote by him or her):

American literary historian Van Wyck Brooks described Exile's Return as "an irreplaceable literary record of the most dramatic period in American literary history." (5)

LLoyd Morris wrote about Exile's Return, ''an intimate, realistic portrait of the era that produced a renaissance in American fiction and poetry.''(2)

"A generation is no more a matter of dates than it is one of ideology,'' Cowley wrote in 1973. ''A new generation does not appear every 30 years.'' (2)

''The literary business was booming like General Motors. In this distinguished vaudeville there wasn't much place for angry young men without parlor tricks who talked seriously about the problems of their craft.''-- Crowley said on the Algonquin Roundtable (2)

"The real capital of an author," Cowley once noted, is his or her ability to state "when I say something I mean it. I don't want you to accept what I say, but I want you to understand it and give me credit for being honest about it." (3)

For Cowley the deep reason that these writers, and writers such as Whitman, Crane, Dos Passos, Hemingway, and Cheever, are valuable to us today is because they, as Cowley said, "make it possible for us to believe in ourselves as characters in the drama of American history."(3)

 

Was this person a popular or critical success?

Critical

Titles of the 1-3 “texts” (writing, photos, songs, etc.) by this person you’ll discuss in your paper (include date and place of publication, if applicable):

1. Blue Juniata published by J. Cape & H. Smith in New York in 1929.

2. The Dream of the Golden Mountains published by Viking Press in New York in 1980.

3. Letters of Correspondence between Cowley & Burke published by Viking in New York in 1988

What primary research have you done?
*Interviews 
*Letters of correspondence 
*Newspaper clips


Major influences on this person’s work (what’s on the bookshelf):

League of American Writers: Erskine Caldwell, Archibald MacLeish, Upton Sinclair, Clifford Odets, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Carl Van Doren, Waldo Frank, David Ogden Stewart, John Dos Passos, Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett.

"Lost Generation: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Stein

Edited the work of:  Faulkner, Hawthorne, Witman

Observed Kentucky minors with: Mary Heaton Vorse, Edmund Wilson and Waldo Frank

While in France became friendly with: Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound.

Lived with & was influenced by: Hart Crane

Theodore Dreiser caused him to become involved in "radical politics"

Connections with other parlor figures:

League of American Writers: Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, John Dos Passos,  

Childhood friend and life pen pal Kenneth Burke 

Cowley was editor of The New Republic, which John Dos Passos and Lewis Mumford contributed to

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Cowley

2. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/29/obituaries/malcolm-cowley-writer-is-dead-at-90.html?pagewanted=6&src=pm

3. Malcolm Cowley and American writing. By: Faulkner, D.W., Sewanee Review, 00373052, Spring90, Vol. 98, Issue 2

4. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3137/the-art-of-fiction-no-70-malcolm-cowley

5. Malcolm Cowley Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
6. http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Cowley__Malcolm.html
7. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcowleyM.htm 
8. The Selected Correspondence of Kenneth Burke and Malcolm Cowley, 1915-1981 By Kenneth Burke, Malcolm Cowley 

9. And I Work the Writer's Trade by Malcolm Cowley

10. The Daily Messenger CANANDAIGUA, N. Y.,
11. Syracuse Herald Syracuse, NY
12. The Sandusky Register Sandusky, Ohio
13. The Daily Independent MURPHYSBORO, ILLINOIS