“Writing
is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies
of the writer. He or she must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if
he is to sustain and complete an undertaking. “
– Jessamyn West
Born in Indiana on this date in 1902,
West wrote dozens of short stories and 20 novels, most notably her acclaimed
1945 work The Friendly Persuasion.
After moving to California and
graduating from Whittier College, she taught school for many years before
coming down with tuberculosis. Not
expected to live, she moved into a sanatorium for treatment and while there
began writing to pass the time.
Ultimately, she regained her health but the writing bug stuck and she
moved into her new career full time in 1939.
Her stories, although shaped by her
imagination, are loosely based on tales told to her by her mother and
grandmother of their life in rural Indiana – a setting and, of course, a time
she never knew personally. 
“The past is
really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future,” she remarked
about her endeavors. Her opus work, The Friendly Persuasion, eventually was
made into an Academy Award “Best Movie” nominee, and its sequel, Except For Me and Thee was made into a
much heralded television movie.
“The past is
really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future,” she remarked
about her endeavors. Her opus work, The Friendly Persuasion, eventually was
made into an Academy Award “Best Movie” nominee, and its sequel, Except For Me and Thee was made into a
much heralded television movie.
In an interview about the power of
words, West said people should choose them carefully. “A broken bone can heal,” she said, “but the
wound a word opens can fester forever.”
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