Today is the birthday of Caroline Gordon (6 October, 1895 – 11 April, 1981) an American award winning novelist.
1 ) Gordon was born and raised in Kentucky where her family’s plantation was known as “Woodstock”.
2 ) Gordon’s first job was that of a writer of society news for the Chattanooga Reporter.
3 ) Alan Tate, essayist and a free spirit, embarked on a adoring love affair with Gordon. The happy couple wed on 15 May, 1925 and in September their daughter Nancy was born (you do the math). Gordon retained her maiden name.
4 ) The couple lived in Clarksville where they hosted some of the most notable writers in the country including T.S. Eliot, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
5 ) Author Ford Madox Ford was considered by Caroline to be her mentor and counseled her into publishing Penhally in 1931.
6 ) During those early years of writing Gordon won the Guggenheim and O. Henry award.
7 ) The author received the O. Henry award second place finish for her short storyOld Red – there were 17 third place recipients.
8 ) The couple divorced in 1945, married again in 1946 and divorced again in 1959. However, they remained friends.
9 ) In 1947, during a difficult time in her life, Gordon converted to Catholicism.
10) In her later years, Gordon lived in Mexico. In 1981 she suffered a stroke and died six weeks later.
Zohar – Man of la Book
One Comment
I’ve never heard of Caroline Gordon before and I love southern writers. I’m going to look into her and see about reading her work. Thanks for posting about her.