Stormy Weather : Happy Deathday Ms. Welty!

Hello there, dear readers!

Over the weekend we had some stormy weather and our lines were down! So… we’re playing a bit of catch-up today!

On July 23rd, in 2001, 6-time winner of the O. Henry Award for Short Stories, National Medal for Literature and A1969 Pulitzer Prize winner Eudora Welty died in her Mississippi home at the age of 92.

Welty is certainly one of the strongest voices in Southern Gothic lit.

Though she only wrote 5 novels and numerous volumes of short stories, with Welty it is purely a matter of quality vs. quantity. Her writing is richly descriptive and darkly humorous. Her talent for comedy aside, the most surprising gift that Welty has offered her readers, and the text that speaks most directly about her work as a writer, came to fruition in 1983, when Welty agreed to deliver the first annual Massey Lectures in the History of American Civilization at Harvard University.

Our favorite works include her 1984 memoir “One Writer’s Beginnings”, “The Optimist’s Daughter” and her first collection of short stories “A Curtain of Green”  which was published in 1941. Of late, we have recently read “Losing Battles”, written in 1970, and it has steadily become a favorite as well!

If you are interested in Eudora Welty’s full biography and works, we recommend a visit to  the Eudora Welty Foundation, our resource for all things Eudora!

Today, we encourage our readers to reflect on why they love to read and/or write. What first drew your attention to the words on the pages in front you… Ms. Welty often reflected on things like this and drew on her personal experiences to craft her marvelous stories. So… write about your origins as a writer!

Write on in peace, Ms. Welty!

Happy Deathday Mr. Nash!

On May 19th in 1971, one of America’s finest lyric writers and poets died of Crohn’s disease at the age of 68. It was once said by the New York Times that Ogden Nash’s “droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country’s best-known producer of humorous poetry”.

While the volume of his work may not be as great as some other epic poets of our time, his contribution to popular culture can certainly not go unnoticed. You may recall this famous line, used in the 1971 film adaptation of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”; “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker”. Well, that little gem was written by none other than Mr. Ogden Nash. 

It may interest you all to know that Mr. Nash was a Harvard dropout who, having studied and become frustrated with the style of 18th century Romantic poetry, got his big break when he teamed up two Doubleday coworkers to produce Born in a Beer Garden; or, She Troupes to Conquer, which made fun of classic literature.

Nash was elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Institute of Arts and Letters. During the 1950s he wrote more frequently for the children’s market, with such titles as The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus (1957), Custard the Dragon (1959), and a personal favorite, Girls are Silly (1962). He also wrote for television productions of Peter and the Wolf and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Our all time favorite collection by Nash is undoubtedly Hard Lines, his first major work which was published in 1931. If you have never read Nash, we highly suggest you dash out to your local library or check him out online here.

Ogden Nash frequently wrote about his experiences babysitting his grandchildren. Today, pay close attention to the children in your life. Observe them, quote them, dedicate a story or poem to them. If there are no children in you life currently, then we challenge you to spend the day with your inner child.

Write on in peace, Mr. Nash!

Happy Deathday Mr. Twain!

That’s right… on this day in 1910, our beloved Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) died of heart failure at the age of 74.

Twain is, of course, best known for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Prince and the Pauper, but he actually began his illustrious career in travel journalism. His body of work is extensive and includes everything from essays to memoirs and everything in between! Some of our favorite, though perhaps lesser known, works by Twain include Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (a novel published in 1896), Life on the Mississippi (1883) and Is Shakespeare Dead?, which was published in 1909. 

If you’d like to read last year’s post, it is available here.

Twain died in Redding, Connecticut. At his memorial, William Dean Howells said:

“We may confess that he had faults, while we deny that he tried to make them pass for merits. He disowned his errors by owning them; in the very defects of his qualities he triumphed, and he could make us glad with him at his escape from them.”

We can safely say that no other American writer has shown us ourselves so vividly and so enduringly. Twain spoke often of the importance of literacy, so we hope you will join us in an honor of silent reading in honor of this titan of American Literature.

Write on in peace, Mark Twain!

Happy Deathday Mr. Williams!

On February 25th in 1983, American playwright Tennessee Williams died at the age of 71 from a choking accident, involving the cap from an eye drop bottle. (Though- it was indicated that intoxication was a factor in his death).

Williams won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his most recognized work “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1948. He won the Pulitzer again in 1955 for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. He was awarded the Tony Award for best play for his 1952 play “The Rose Tattoo”. And in 1980 he was even presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter!

Though Williams, like many writers, suffered with the vice of drinking and struggled with depression, the impact he had on American drama is invaluable and will never be forgotten. “The Glass Menagerie”, published in 1945, remains one of our very favorite plays to this day.

In 2009, Williams was inducted into the Poet’s Corner at St. John the Divine Episcopalian Church! If you’d like to read a little bit about that, just click the picture of his gravestone below.

You may notice something interesting about the post we have linked to the picture above…did you notice? That was our very first “deathday” post here at DWC!

Today, have a drink… hell… have two or three… (but be responsible), put your feet up, crack open some Tennessee Williams and get lost in the Southern Gothic recesses of your mind. Succumb to the drama.

Write on in peace, Mr. Williams!

Happy Deathday Mr. Poe!

Today is Edgar Allan Poe’s deathday. Poe died in 1849 from what is believed to be tuberculosis, though there were numerous suspicions that the writer had contracted rabies, cholera, syphilis or perhaps had an epileptic seizure. We’ll never know for sure as the death records have been lost. He was only 40 years old.

Poe is among the most famous writers of our time. He is remembered as the Master of Horror and the macabre. His writings have haunted and thrilled readers for many years and his influence on popular culture has been legendary.

Among his masterpieces are the short stories The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Gold Bug. His poetry expresses a melancholy yet sensuous state of being that leaves many readers with mixed emotions. Poe unnerves some and inspires others. Some of our favorite poems by Poe include his masterpiece “The Raven”, “The Bells”, “The City in the Sea” and of course, “Annabel Lee”.

Poe published his first volume of poetry in 1827, Tamerlane and other Poems. But it was not published under his name but rather as “A Bostonian”. It may encourage and interest some of you aspiring poets out there to know that Poe’s most famous poem “The Raven”, first published in 1845, only earned the poet between $10 and $15!!

Edgar Allan Poe may have died poverty stricken, widowed and wandering the streets of Baltimore in a confused and delirious state (on account of drunkenness or perhaps rabies), but mark our words… he will never be forgotten. His terrifying and thought provoking texts will continue to haunt readers for many many ages to come.

Today, remember Mr. Poe. Draw the curtains, light some candles and listen for things that go bump in the night as you read. And should a “Black Cat” cross your path, be sure to send it Poe’s regards.

Write on in peace, Mr. Poe!

We Declare Today an International Holiday!!

His plays are perhaps the most translated texts in the history if mankind. His very name has become synonymous with what it is to be a great writer. William Shakespeare, the bard of Avon, died on this day in 1616. 

“Don Quixote” has often been called the first “modern novel”. And it’s author, Miguel de Cervantes has been called “El Principe de los Ingenios” or “The Prince of Wits”! In fact, since the author’s death on April 23 in 1616, the Spanish language has been referred to as “the language of Cervantes”.

These two writers died on the same died of the same year! We cannot think of anything more tragic or more intimate. 

Undoubtedly, most of our readers will know a great deal about both of these writers so we’ll not bore you with a bunch of historical information. What we will do is provide you with two excellent resources. 

Complete Works of Mr. William Shakespeare

Biography and Works of Cervantes

If you, by some horribly cruel twist of fate, have never read the work of either of these writers, please explore the links above and take some time to visit your local library!!

We, at Dead Writers Club, hope you will join us in celebrating this historic day!