Lanford Wilson: Early Stories, Sketches, and Poems ed. by David A. Crespy (review)

Lanford Wilson: Early Stories, Sketches, and Poems, edited by David A. Crespy, is an excellent collection of work featuring eighteen short stories and twenty-three poems written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Lanford Wilson. The most thrilling accomplishment of this book is that it brings to light a selection of work previously unpublished, until now; after Wilson passed away in 2011, all his papers were donated to the Special Collections Library at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where Crespy teaches playwriting. Owing many accolades to Crespy's fervent editorial labor, this remarkable collection will be received with tremendous excitement by enthusiasts of Wilson's work. Crespy begins the book with an introductory essay that offers a concise overview of Wilson's biography, including his upbringing in rural Missouri, his various travels, and his critical expansion as a writer. Readers will quickly notice that most of the selections are left undated, but Crespy asserts they were written between 1955 and 1964, a period when Wilson was still developing his voice as a young author, and years before his success as a flourishing playwright. The book's introduction also includes a preliminary analysis of each short story that draws comparisons between the characters, descriptions, and plots of these early writings and those found in Wilson's later works. The intersection between Wilson's prose and the development of his more mature dramatic dialogue establishes a clear foundation for future exploration and research by both students and scholars.

The collection is presented in five sections that organize the writings by either a common theme or a stylistic approach. Beginning with "Section 1: Six Stories," Wilson offers a nostalgic view of adolescence and the various types of people one might encounter as a young adult. He writes beautifully about topics such as a boy's remembrances of visiting his grandmother, encountering threatening neighbor children, befriending a hobo in Central Park, and noisily confronting naked apartment dwellers. With magnificently crafted character descriptions and scenarios that seem mysteriously familiar, Wilson stirs his reader's imagination while simultaneously reminding them of the innocence, and occasional pain, that accompanies youth. The most notable story in this section, "Miss Misty," is a complex, yet superbly written examination of gender identity. The story features two friends attempting to help a drag queen rehearse "masculine" mannerisms in order to appease her wealthy father. Here, before becoming a playwright known for championing the outcast and exposing the plight of gay people, Wilson, who was himself gay, reveals his early interest in openly and sincerely writing about characters struggling to cope with the social forces of oppression.

"Section 2: Travels to and from the City" includes three longer stories that explore the sentiments of independence and isolation. In both "The Water Commissioner" and "Fish Kite," Wilson presents the eye-opening adventures of young men who travel away from their homes in the country to visit, and attempt to find employment in, larger cities. Perhaps reminiscent of his own journey from Missouri to San Diego, and then eventually on to Chicago and New York City, Wilson reflects on the differences between rural and urban life, two subjects commonly found in many of his subsequent dramas. The third story in this section, "The Train to Washington," feels slightly out of place when compared to the others. This is possibly because the travels of the characters are described as something they long for rather than presented as an immediate event in which the action occurs. The story illustrates the heartbreak experienced by an eight-year-old boy when he discovers that a heated encounter between his prostitute mother and his uncle will prevent him from escaping the city to spend the summer in rural Virginia with his beloved grandmother.

The next two parts, "Section 3: Sketches of Town Life" and "Section 4: Sketches of City Life" include two micro-stories and seven pieces of flash fiction. As in...