In this Book
- Lanford Wilson: Early Stories, Sketches, and Poems
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: University of Missouri Press
summary
Before Lanford Wilson became a Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, with such celebrated productions as The Hot l Baltimore, Fifth of July, Talley’s Folly, and Burn This, he wrote dozens of short stories and poems, many of which take place in the 1950s, small-town Missouri where he grew up. This selection of Wilson’s early work, written between 1955 and 1967 when he was between the ages of 18 and 30, provides a rare look at a young writer developing his style. The stories explore many of the themes Wilson later took up in the theater, such as sexual identity and the rupture of societies and families. These never-before-published works—part of the manuscript collection donated by Wilson to the University of Missouri—shed light on the roots of some of America’s best-loved plays and are accomplished and evocative works in their own right.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. i-iv
- List of Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-2
- Introduction
- pp. 3-26
- Section 1: Six Stories
- pp. 27-28
- A Section of Orange
- pp. 29-34
- Goodbye Sparta
- pp. 35-42
- Miss Misty
- pp. 43-50
- The Beautiful Children
- pp. 51-58
- The Polar Bear
- pp. 59-78
- The Canary (A Fairy Tale)
- pp. 79-84
- The Train to Washington
- pp. 87-94
- The Water Commissioner
- pp. 95-106
- Section 3. Sketches of Town Life
- pp. 147-148
- The Rimers of Eldritch
- pp. 149-152
- Green Grow the Rushes
- pp. 153-162
- Section 4: Sketches of City Life
- pp. 171-172
- Fuzz on Orion’s Sword
- pp. 177-192
- Uptown in Snow
- pp. 193-196
- Dear Mr. Goldberg
- pp. 197-200
- Section 5: Poems
- pp. 205-206
- Outside Tulsa
- p. 207
- Orange Grove
- p. 210
- Flower Box
- p. 211
- Oakwood Gothic
- p. 214
- Cathedral of St. Paul
- p. 216
- The Street Artist
- p. 217
- Village Walking Rhyme
- p. 218
- On a Day of Crisis
- p. 219
- [Fifth Avenue was quiet]
- pp. 220-221
- So the Sky
- p. 223
- Lullaby (2)
- p. 225
- [If yours cannot be]
- p. 226
- I Saw All the Workers in the Field at Noon
- pp. 227-228
- Why When I Love You
- pp. 229-232
- Notes on a Poem for Bill
- pp. 233-234
- [The great-hearted dean]
- p. 237
- A Love Story about the Next Best Thing
- pp. 238-240
- Editorial Note
- pp. 245-251
Additional Information
ISBN
9780826273895
Related ISBN(s)
9780826221339
MARC Record
OCLC
999606927
Pages
263
Launched on MUSE
2017-08-16
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2017