H. L. Davis
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2007) |
Harold Lenoir Davis | |
---|---|
San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
Notable works | Honey in the Horn |
Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize Guggenheim Fellowship |
Harold Lenoir Davis (October 18, 1894 – October 31, 1960), also known as H. L. Davis, was an American novelist and poet. A native of Oregon, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Honey in the Horn, the only Pulitzer Prize for Literature given to a native Oregonian.[1][2] Later living in California and Texas, he also wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post.
Early life
Davis was born in Nonpareil, Douglas County, Oregon, in the Umpqua River Valley, and lived in Roseburg in his early years.[3] His father was a teacher and the family moved frequently as he took up different teaching positions. They moved to Antelope, Oregon in 1906, and two years later they were in The Dalles, where his father was now a principal.[3] In 1912 Davis graduated from high school there. He held various short-term jobs, with the county, with Pacific Power and Light, and in a local bank. He also worked as a railroad timekeeper and with a survey party near Mount Adams.
Writing career
His first poems were published in April 1919 in
In 1926, Davis and
Together with his new wife, the former Marion Lay of The Dalles, Davis moved to
In 1932, Davis was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. The award allowed him to move to Jalisco, Mexico, where he lived for two years, concentrating on his writing. There he completed the novel Honey in the Horn, about southern Oregon pioneer life. It is a coming-of-age tale set in the early twentieth century. This novel received the Harper Prize for best first novel of 1935, together with a $7,500 cash award. It was well reviewed by writers such as Robert Penn Warren, although New Yorker critic Clifton Fadiman did not like it. The following spring the book won the Pulitzer Prize, and is the only Pulitzer Prize ever awarded to an Oregon born author.[3] Davis did not go to New York to receive the Pulitzer in person, saying he did not want to put himself on exhibit.
The Davises bought a small ranch near
Davis was also undergoing crises in his life. He was divorced in 1943. He also changed publishers, from
Later life
Over the next ten years, he published three more novels and a collection of earlier short stories. His fourth novel, Winds of Morning, was well received and became a
Evaluation
Although often considered a regional novelist, Davis rejected that evaluation. He undoubtedly used regional themes, but contended that he did so in the service of the universal. Influences on his work can be found in a wide range of American and European literature. His prose is considered wry, ironic, and cryptic. His stories are realistic, without the romantic stereotypes expected of "Western" fiction. The landscape is a major component of his novels.
Works
- Armed Services Edition
- Proud Riders and Other Poems. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1942
- Harp of a Thousand Strings (novel). New York, William Morrow & Co., 1941
- Beulah Land (novel). New York, William Morrow & Company, 1949
- Winds of Morning (novel). New York, William Morrow & Company, 1952, ISBN 0-8371-5785-4
- Team Bells Woke Me and Other Stories. William Morrow & Company, 1953, ISBN 0-8371-7125-3
- The Distant Music (novel). New York, William Morrow & Company, 1957, ISBN 0-89174-045-7
- Kettle of Fire. New York, William Morrow & Company, 1957, ISBN 1-299-07362-X
- The Selected Poems of H. L. Davis. Introduction by Thomas Hornsby Ferril, Boise, Idaho, Ahsahta Press, 1978, ISBN 0-916272-07-9
Notes
- ^ Oregonian, Special to The (2015-07-07). "Who's the only Oregonian to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature?". oregonlive. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ Phyllis McGinley, born in Ontario, Oregon, won the Pulitzer for Poetry in 1961.
- ^ a b c d Baker, Jeff (December 2, 2009). "Rediscovering H.L. Davis". The Oregonian. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- University of Idaho Press, n.d.), p. 330
External links
- Works by H. L. Davis at Faded Page (Canada)
- A short biography with a chronology
- Discussion of his work
- The Literary Encyclopedia
- A brief biography
- First Edition of Honey in the Horn (1936 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
- A large collection of Davis's manuscripts and photographs reside at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.