Winifred Sanford: The Life and Times of a Texas Writer (Southwestern Writers Collection Series, Wittliff Collections at Texas State University)

literary executrix of the George Jean Nathan Estate, allowed me to include letters that Nathan wrote to Winifred when he was coeditor with Mencken of The American Mercury. SMU Press identifi ed Dr. Don B. Graham and Dr. William T. Pilkington as First and Second Readers of Windfall and Other Stories, and Dr. Graham and Dr. Pilkington allowed me to lift quotations from their reports. More recently, Dr. Pilkington's widow, Betsy Pilkington, and Dr. Graham granted permission for these comments to appear in this book. George Ann Ratchford of SMU Press granted permission for the quotation of passages from short stories published in the publically offered edition of Windfall and Other Stories. The Duluth Public Library supplied photocopies of newspaper articles that pertained to the Mahon and Sanford families. Richard Holland, former curator of the Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University, obtained permission from the Texas Institute of Letters for my research of TIL fi les, and Steve Davis, current curator of the Southwestern Writers Collection, honored my request for photocopies of documents that are now housed in the Winifred Sanford Collection. And the staff of the History and Archives Department of the Dallas Public Library guided me to newspaper articles and other sources of information about Winifred's life after she moved to Dallas, Texas. I also owe debts of gratitude to William H. Vann and to early editors of the Southwest Review. Vann provided a record of what went on in the organizational years of TIL's history, and the editors of the Southwest Review documented major concerns of Texas writers of the 1920s and 1930s in the pages of that journal. Friends, scholars, and family members that are too numerous to name have encouraged my work on this project, as well. My initial research of Winifred Sanford's life and writing was guided by Dr. Joan Chandler, who chaired my graduate committee at the University of Texas at Dallas, and by Dr. Frederick Turner and Dr. Robert Nelsen, who served as members of that committee and awarded my thesis on Winifred Sanford a special commendation. Dr. Bert Kruger Smith of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Austin made it her personal mission to see that a copy of this thesis was placed in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. My dear friend Dr. Lou Rodenberger provided the nudging that I needed to put other writing projects aside and place the writing of this book at the top of Winifred and her baby sister, Helen, with their parents, Helen and Henry Mahon, in the front yard of the Mahon home in Duluth, Minnesota. Winifred Sanford Is Generally Regarded By Critics As One Of The Best And Most Important Early Twentieth-century Texas Women Writers, Despite Publishing Only A Handful Of Short Stories Before Slipping Into Relative Obscurity. First Championed By Her Mentor, H. L. Mencken, And Published In His Magazine, The American Mercury, Many Of Sanford's Stories Were Set During The Texas Oil Boom Of The 1920s And 1930s And Offer A Unique Perspective On Life In The Boomtowns During That Period. Four Of Her Stories Were Listed In The Best American Short Stories Of 1926. Questioning The Sudden End To Sanford's Writing Career, Wiesepape, A Leading Literary Historian Of Texas Women Writers, Delved Into The Author's Previously Unexamined Private Papers And Emerged With An Insightful And Revealing Study That Sheds Light On Both Sanford's Abbreviated Career And The Domestic Lives Of Women At The Time. The First In-depth Account Of Sanford's Life And Work, Wiesepape's Biography Discusses Sanford's Fiction Through The Sociohistorical Contexts That Shaped And Inspired It. In Addition, Wiesepape Has Included Two Previously Unpublished Stories As Well As Eighteen Previously Unpublished Letters To Sanford From Mencken. Winifred Sanford Is An Illuminating Biography Of One Of The State's Unsung Literary Jewels And An Important And Much-needed Addition To The Often Overlooked Field Of Texas Women's Writing.--amazon.com. The Story Begins -- A Wonderful Time -- Keeping House -- Difficult Adjustments -- The American Mercury Adventure -- Plans, Pressures, And Expectations -- Unexpected Interruptions -- Pieces Of The Puzzle -- One Story Ends And Another Begins -- Conclusion -- A List Of Winifred Sanford's Publications -- A List Of Stories And Novels That Winifred Sanford Wrote But Never Published -- Appendix A: Letters Exchanged Between Winifred Sanford And The Editors Of The American Mercury -- Appendix B: Lagniappe: Two Unpublished Stories By Winifred Sanford -- Appendix C: Two Nonfiction Articles For Writers. Betty Holland Wiesepape. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Winifred Sanford is generally regarded by critics as one of the best and most important early twentieth-century Texas women writers, despite publishing only a handful of short stories before slipping into relative obscurity. First championed by her mentor, H. L. Mencken, and published in his magazine, The American Mercury , many of Sanford's stories were set during the Texas oil boom of the 1920s and 1930s and offer a unique perspective on life in the boomtowns during that period. Four of her stories were included in The Best American Short Stories of 1926 . Questioning the sudden end to Sanford's writing career, Wiesepape, a leading literary historian of Texas women writers, delved into the author's previously unexamined private papers and emerged with an insightful and revealing study that sheds light on both Sanford's abbreviated career and the domestic lives of women at the time. The first in-depth account of Sanford's life and work, Wiesepape's biography discusses Sanford's fiction through the lens of the sociohistorical contexts that shaped and inspired it. In addition, Wiesepape has included two previously unpublished stories as well as eighteen previously unpublished letters to Sanford from Mencken. Winifred Sanford is an illuminating biography of one of the state's unsung literary jewels and an important and much-needed addition to the often overlooked field of Texas women's writing. The first comprehensive biography of one of Texas's most important female writers - made complete with examples of her work, excerpts from her private papers, and eighteen previously unpublished letters from hermentor, H. L. Mencken. The first comprehensive biography of one of Texas's most important female writers-made complete with examples of her work, excerpts from her private papers, and eighteen previously unpublished letters from her mentor, H. L. Mencken.