“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 The Friendly
Persuasion – also made
into an Academy Award “Best Movie” nominee – and its sequel, Except
For Me and Thee, eventually made into a much-heralded television
movie.
West started her adult life as an elementary teacher in California
before contracting tuberculosis and being sent to a sanatorium for
treatment. While there, undergoing
extensive treatment and rehabilitation, she began writing to pass the time and
after regaining her health decided to continue pursuing writing as a career.
Her stories, loosely based on tales told to her by her mother and
grandmother about their life in rural Indiana, often reflect West’s proclaimed love of bygone eras.
“The past,” she said, “is really almost as much a work of the
imagination as the future.”
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