Lyle Saxon
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Lyle Saxon (September 4, 1891 – April 9, 1946) was a writer and journalist who reported for
Life
Saxon was born on September 4, 1891, either in
Saxon moved to New Orleans not long after college in 1914 or 1915 and, after moving again several times, settled there permanently in 1918.[4] Saxon lived in the French Quarter at 612 Royal St. starting in 1918;[5] Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, Roark Bradford, and Edmund Wilson visited.[6]
He was an ardent student of the history of New Orleans and wrote six books on the subject. His most popular titles include Fabulous New Orleans, recounting the city's past as set against his memories of his first
Saxon was an enthusiastic participant in the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition.
Yet there was in his life, too, much fun. He was a major proponent of masking at Mardi Gras. He describes his 1940 custom thusly: "I was a white rabbit that year—six feet, two inches tall with a skin tight costume of white imitation rabbit fur, a simpering rabbit face, ears two feet long, standing upright and lined with pink satin, a large bow of pink ribbon tied around my neck, and a small bushy tail." When the time came to enter the streets, Saxon climbed into a baby carriage, and [his manservant] Joe [Gilmore] wheeled the infant bunny through the crowd as Saxon drank from a nursing bottle of whisky."[7]
Saxon's fiction included short stories: "Cane River" was published in The Dial magazine edited by Marianne Moore, and "The Centaur Plays Croquet" included in the American Caravan anthology in 1927. Saxon's 1930 novel Lafitte the Pirate was the basis for the 1938 Cecil B. DeMille film The Buccaneer.[8] His 1937 novel Children of Strangers sold well.
He was a director to the Federal Writers' Project, WPA guide to Louisiana.[6]
He is buried at Magnolia Cemetery (Baton Rouge, Louisiana).
External images | |
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Photographs related to Lyle Saxon | |
Photo of Saxon, as seen on Flickr | |
Saxon's signature, as seen on Flickr | |
Photo of Saxon, as part of Saxon's biography published by 64 Parishes |
Bibliography
- Audubon, John James; De Caro, F.A.; Jordan, Rosan A., eds. (1998). "A Journey Through Mardi Gras". Louisiana sojourns: travelers' tales and literary journeys. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: LSU Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-2240-2.
- Father Mississippi. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. 1927. ISBN 978-1-56554-795-7. reprint 2006
- Fabulous New Orleans. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. 1928. ISBN 978-0-88289-706-6. reprint 1988
- Old Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. 1929. ISBN 978-0-88289-705-9. reprint 1989
- Lafitte the Pirate. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. 1930. ISBN 978-0-88289-395-2.
Lyle Saxon.
reprint 1989 - Children of Strangers (novel). Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. 1937. ISBN 978-0-88289-397-6. reprint 1989
- Saxon, Lyle; Dreyer, Edward; Tallant, Robert, eds. (1945). Gumbo Ya-Ya. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. ISBN 0-88289-645-8. reprint 1987
- The Friends of Joe Gilmore. New York City, New York: Hastings House Publishers. 1948.
References
- Chance, Harvey (2003). The Life and Selected Letters of Lyle Saxon. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. ISBN 9781589801097.
- Powell, Lawrence N. (29 July 2009). "Lyle Saxon and the WPA Guide to New Orleans". Southern Spaces. doi:10.18737/M7F60N.
- Thomas, James W. (1991). Lyle Saxon: A Critical Biography. Vestavia Hills, Alabama: Summa Publications Inc. ISBN 978-0-917786-83-9.
- ^ a b Thomas 1991, p. 1.
- ISBN 978-0-692-14152-6.
- ^ Thomas 1991, p. 10.
- ^ Thomas 1991, pp. 15–18.
- ^ Thomas 1991, p. 30.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8071-0390-6.
- ^ Chance 2003, p. 198.
- ^ "The Buccaneer (1938)". filmsdefrance.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30. Retrieved 16 March 2014.