Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings" - New World
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Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was born in 1896 in [[Washington, DC]]. She always loved writing and in her youth won a prize for a story she submitted to the [[Washington Post]]. Her father, [[Arthur Frank Kinnan]] worked in the [[U.S. Patent office]] as an [[attorney]]. After his death in 1914 her and her mother [[Ida May Traphagen Kinnan]] moved to Wisconsin where she enrolled at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]. | Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was born in 1896 in [[Washington, DC]]. She always loved writing and in her youth won a prize for a story she submitted to the [[Washington Post]]. Her father, [[Arthur Frank Kinnan]] worked in the [[U.S. Patent office]] as an [[attorney]]. After his death in 1914 her and her mother [[Ida May Traphagen Kinnan]] moved to Wisconsin where she enrolled at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]. | ||
| − | She received a degree in English in 1918 and the following year she married fellow student [[Charles Rawlings]], also a writer. The couple moved to [[Louisville, Kentucky]] and then [[Rochester, New York]], where they both worked as journalists for various newspapers. In 1928, with a small inheritance from her mother, the Rawlingses purchased a 72 acre (290,000 m²) orange grove near [[Hawthorne, Florida]], in a hamlet named [[Cross Creek, Florida|Cross Creek]], named for its location between [[Orange Lake, (Florida)|Orange Lake]] and [[Lochloosa Lake]]. Later Cross Creek, the source of inspiration for her writing would know fame on account of her semi-autobiographical novel with the same name | + | She received a degree in English in 1918 and the following year she married fellow student [[Charles Rawlings]], also a writer. The couple moved to [[Louisville, Kentucky]] and then [[Rochester, New York]], where they both worked as journalists for various newspapers. In 1928, with a small inheritance from her mother, the Rawlingses purchased a 72 acre (290,000 m²) orange grove near [[Hawthorne, Florida]], in a hamlet named [[Cross Creek, Florida|Cross Creek]], named for its location between [[Orange Lake, (Florida)|Orange Lake]] and [[Lochloosa Lake]]. Later Cross Creek, the source of inspiration for much of her writing, would know fame on account of her semi-autobiographical novel with the same name. |
| − | She was fascinated with the remote wilderness and the lives of the Florida [[Cracker (socio-demographic)|Cracker]]s. These rugged and independent people, although poor, inspired her with their resourcefulness and their | + | She was fascinated with the remote wilderness and the lives of the Florida [[Cracker (socio-demographic)|Cracker]]s. These rugged and independent people, although poor, inspired her with their resourcefulness and their close, harmonious relationship to nature. She would write about their way of life: hunting, fishing, farming and sometimes even moonshining. Skeptical in the beginnning, the local residents soon warmed to her and opened up about their lives and experiences. On more than one occasion she lived with one of these families in order to gather materials and atmosphere for her writing. |
| − | Her first novel, ''South Moon Under'', was published in 1933. The | + | Her first novel, ''South Moon Under'', was published in 1933. It became a [[Book-of-the-Month Club]] Selection as well as a finalist in the [[Pulitzer Prize]] competiton. The novel captures the richness of Cross Creek and its environs, and incorporates local folklore about the moon and its phases. That same year, she and her husband were divorced. One of her least well received books, ''Golden Apples'', came out in 1935. However, in 1938 she won international recognition with her book the ''The Yearling''. |
With money she made from ''The Yearling,'' Rawlings bought a beach cottage at [[Crescent Beach, Florida|Crescent Beach]], ten miles south of [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]]. In 1941 she married [[Ocala, Florida|Ocala]] hotelier Norton Baskin, and he remodeled an old mansion into the Castle Warden Hotel in St. Augustine. After [[World War II]], he sold the hotel and managed the Dolphin Restaurant at [[Marineland of Florida|Marineland]], which was then Florida's number one tourist attraction. Rawlings and Baskin made their primary home at Crescent Beach. | With money she made from ''The Yearling,'' Rawlings bought a beach cottage at [[Crescent Beach, Florida|Crescent Beach]], ten miles south of [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]]. In 1941 she married [[Ocala, Florida|Ocala]] hotelier Norton Baskin, and he remodeled an old mansion into the Castle Warden Hotel in St. Augustine. After [[World War II]], he sold the hotel and managed the Dolphin Restaurant at [[Marineland of Florida|Marineland]], which was then Florida's number one tourist attraction. Rawlings and Baskin made their primary home at Crescent Beach. | ||
| − | Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings died in 1953 in St. Augustine of a [[cerebral hemorrhage]]. She bequeathed most of her property to the [[University of Florida]] in [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]], where she taught creative writing in | + | Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings died in 1953 in St. Augustine of a [[cerebral hemorrhage]]. She bequeathed most of her property to the [[University of Florida]] in [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]], where she taught creative writing in Anderson Hall. In return, her name was given to a new dormitory dedicated in 1958 as Rawlings Hall<ref>[http://www.housing.ufl.edu/housing/Facilities_TourPages/rawlings.htm UF Housing Facilities - Rawlings Hall]</ref> which occupies prime real estate in the heart of campus. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings had no children of her own; her land at Cross Creek is now the [[Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park]].[http://www.floridastateparks.org/marjoriekinnanrawlings] |
Norton Baskin survived her by 44 years, passing away in 1997. They are buried side-by-side at [[Antioch Cemetery]] near [[Island Grove, Florida]]. Rawlings' tombstone, with Baskin's inscription, reads ''Through her writing she endeared herself to the people of the world''. | Norton Baskin survived her by 44 years, passing away in 1997. They are buried side-by-side at [[Antioch Cemetery]] near [[Island Grove, Florida]]. Rawlings' tombstone, with Baskin's inscription, reads ''Through her writing she endeared herself to the people of the world''. | ||
Revision as of 14:45, 23 May 2007
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953) was an American author who lived in rural Florida and wrote novels describing the richly detailed natural settings of the Florida backcountry and the hard scrabble lives of those who settled it. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie with the same name. The Yearling which came out in 1946, starred iconic actor Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman who both were nominated for Academy Awards. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was a pioneer environmentalist who reacted against the growing urbanization around her. Some have compared her semi-autobiographical novel Cross Creek to Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Additionally, she was an early supporter of Civil Rights when such a stand was unpopular in the American South.
Biography
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was born in 1896 in Washington, DC. She always loved writing and in her youth won a prize for a story she submitted to the Washington Post. Her father, Arthur Frank Kinnan worked in the U.S. Patent office as an attorney. After his death in 1914 her and her mother Ida May Traphagen Kinnan moved to Wisconsin where she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She received a degree in English in 1918 and the following year she married fellow student Charles Rawlings, also a writer. The couple moved to Louisville, Kentucky and then Rochester, New York, where they both worked as journalists for various newspapers. In 1928, with a small inheritance from her mother, the Rawlingses purchased a 72 acre (290,000 m²) orange grove near Hawthorne, Florida, in a hamlet named Cross Creek, named for its location between Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake. Later Cross Creek, the source of inspiration for much of her writing, would know fame on account of her semi-autobiographical novel with the same name.
She was fascinated with the remote wilderness and the lives of the Florida Crackers. These rugged and independent people, although poor, inspired her with their resourcefulness and their close, harmonious relationship to nature. She would write about their way of life: hunting, fishing, farming and sometimes even moonshining. Skeptical in the beginnning, the local residents soon warmed to her and opened up about their lives and experiences. On more than one occasion she lived with one of these families in order to gather materials and atmosphere for her writing.
Her first novel, South Moon Under, was published in 1933. It became a Book-of-the-Month Club Selection as well as a finalist in the Pulitzer Prize competiton. The novel captures the richness of Cross Creek and its environs, and incorporates local folklore about the moon and its phases. That same year, she and her husband were divorced. One of her least well received books, Golden Apples, came out in 1935. However, in 1938 she won international recognition with her book the The Yearling.
With money she made from The Yearling, Rawlings bought a beach cottage at Crescent Beach, ten miles south of St. Augustine. In 1941 she married Ocala hotelier Norton Baskin, and he remodeled an old mansion into the Castle Warden Hotel in St. Augustine. After World War II, he sold the hotel and managed the Dolphin Restaurant at Marineland, which was then Florida's number one tourist attraction. Rawlings and Baskin made their primary home at Crescent Beach.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings died in 1953 in St. Augustine of a cerebral hemorrhage. She bequeathed most of her property to the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she taught creative writing in Anderson Hall. In return, her name was given to a new dormitory dedicated in 1958 as Rawlings Hall[1] which occupies prime real estate in the heart of campus. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings had no children of her own; her land at Cross Creek is now the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park.[1]
Norton Baskin survived her by 44 years, passing away in 1997. They are buried side-by-side at Antioch Cemetery near Island Grove, Florida. Rawlings' tombstone, with Baskin's inscription, reads Through her writing she endeared herself to the people of the world.
A posthumously-published children's book, The Secret River, won a Newbery Honor in 1956.
Writing
Her editor was the legendary Maxwell Perkins of Scribner’s. Describe anecdote and
Describe Pulitzer and N.C. Wyeth.
Over the years, she built friendships with fellow writers Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Frost and Margaret Mitchell. Marjorie also became a civil rights advocate and befriended and corresponded with Mary McLeod Bethune and Zora Neale Hurston.
Sued for libel for her book Cross Creek, by her former friend Zelma Cason, Rawlings never wrote another book about Florida, but she did write a final novel, The Sojourner, with a northern setting. In order to absorb the natural setting so vital to her writing, she bought an old farmhouse in Van Hornesville, New York and spent part of each year there until her death.
Filmology
In addition to the The Yearling, Gal Young Un', and the semi-fictionalized memoir Cross Creek were made into movies as well. (Second husband Norton Baskin, then in his eighties, made a cameo appearance in the latter movie.)
"The Yearling" A Japanese animated version (titled "Kojika Monogatari") was created in 1983.
D- You are better at finding this stuff than I am. E
Works
- 1933 South Moon Under
- 1935 Golden Apples
- 1938 The Yearling
- 1940 When the Whippoorwill
- 1942 Cross Creek
- 1942 Cross Creek Cookery
- 1953 The Sojourner
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- "Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings." Dictionary of American Biography, American Council of Learned Societies, 1977. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
- "Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings." St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers, 2nd ed. St. James Press. 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
- "Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings," Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center, Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2007.
- "Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings," Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography Supplemnent:Modern Writers, 1900-1998. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.:Thomson Gale, 2007.
Notes
External links
- "Correspondence and Manuscripts", University of Florida, Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- "Bibliography", Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- Kay Harwell Fernandez, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, January 5, 2000;"Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at Cross Creek", Literary Traveler, Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- "The Libel Trial About Cross Creek", Teaching Guide, Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- "Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park", Florida Online Park Guide, Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- "Marjorie K. Rawlings Cross Creek Home", The Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc., Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- "Photos of the first edition of The Yearling", Pulitzer Prize First Edition Guide, Retrieved April 4, 2007.
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