Brainard Cheney
Encyclopedia
Brainard Cheney was a novelist, playwright and essayist from Georgia
associated primarily with the literary movement known as the Agrarians
.
, located in the wiregrass region
of south central Georgia. He had a writing career that covered four decades. He published four novels — Lightwood (1939), River Rogue (1942), This Is Adam (1958), and Devil's Elbow (1969) — that depict the marring of Agrarian ideals by the social transformation of south Georgia between 1870 and 1960. Ultimately, these novels demonstrate the negative impact of unfettered capitalism, Reconstruction, and northern exploitation on south Georgia.
Cheney attended Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, Tennessee
and there became friends with many of the Fugitives and Agrarian writers. He took courses under John Crowe Ransom
and shared a room with Robert Penn Warren
. In 1928, Cheney married Frances Neel, a reference librarian. He and his wife frequently entertained Caroline Gordon
and Allen Tate
at Idler's Retreat, a large Antebellum
house in Smyrna, Tennessee
, which Frances had inherited. When they were received into the Roman Catholic Church
in 1953, Gordon and Tate were their sponsors.
After Vanderbilt, Cheney became involved in journalism and politics, working for the Nashville Banner
from 1925 to 1942, and later as public relations director for Tennessee governor Frank G. Clement
from 1952 to 1958. He later penned the governor's address at the 1956 Democratic National Convention
("How long oh Lord, how long..."), as well as assisting Robert Penn Warren with some of the speeches included in his novel, All the King's Men
.
Cheney wrote two plays, Strangers in This World, produced at the Vanderbilt University Theater in February 1952 and at the Little Theater, University of Louisville
, Belknap Campus, in January 1956, and I Choose to Die, produced at the Vanderbilt University Theater in November 1960.
In August 1952, Cheney wrote an appreciative review of Flannery O'Connor
's first novel, Wise Blood
. Obtaining Cheney's address from Caroline Gordon, O'Connor wrote to thank him for writing about her book "so carefully and with so much understanding". In his reply, Cheney described himself to the Catholic O'Connor as "an ex-Protestant, ex-agnostic, who had just found his way back (after 10 or 12 generations) to The Church". The Cheneys visited O'Connor for the first time in June 1953. They became close friends with O'Connor and corresponded and shared ideas with her until her death in 1964. Like O'Connor, Cheney was interested in the work of Teilhard de Chardin, about whom in 1965 he co-authored an essay, "Has Teilhard de Chardin Really Joined the Within and Without of Things?", published in The Sewanee Review.
Cheney returned to Georgia in the early 1980s to celebrate a reprinting of his first two novels and the Altamaha R.A.F.T. (Restoring Altamaha Folk Traditions) festival. For the festival, Cheney, who had served as a raft-hand in about 1917, piloted a reconstructed timber raft all the way to the coast at Darien, Georgia
. Cheney died in Nashville in 1990 at the age of eighty-nine. His wife died in 1996, also at the age of eighty-nine.
Cheney's novels reveal his desire for a return to a simpler way of life, one founded on natural cycles and rooted in an appreciation of the land. His tragic characters often go astray by attempting to urbanize themselves or betray their own way of life. In his work, redemption can only be achieved by a return to a farm or a religious conversion, as in Devil's Elbow.
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
associated primarily with the literary movement known as the Agrarians
Southern Agrarians
The Southern Agrarians were a group of twelve American writers, poets, essayists, and novelists, all with roots in the Southern United States, who joined together to write a pro-Southern agrarian manifesto, a...
.
Biography
Cheney was born in FitzgeraldFitzgerald, Georgia
Fitzgerald is a city in Ben Hill in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is the county seat of Ben Hill County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,053...
, located in the wiregrass region
Wiregrass Region
The Wiregrass Region or Wiregrass Country is an area of the Southern United States encompassing parts of southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle...
of south central Georgia. He had a writing career that covered four decades. He published four novels — Lightwood (1939), River Rogue (1942), This Is Adam (1958), and Devil's Elbow (1969) — that depict the marring of Agrarian ideals by the social transformation of south Georgia between 1870 and 1960. Ultimately, these novels demonstrate the negative impact of unfettered capitalism, Reconstruction, and northern exploitation on south Georgia.
Cheney attended Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and there became friends with many of the Fugitives and Agrarian writers. He took courses under John Crowe Ransom
John Crowe Ransom
John Crowe Ransom was an American poet, essayist, magazine editor, and professor.-Life:...
and shared a room with Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the influential literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935...
. In 1928, Cheney married Frances Neel, a reference librarian. He and his wife frequently entertained Caroline Gordon
Caroline Gordon
Caroline Ferguson Gordon was a notable American novelist and literary critic who, while still in her thirties, was the recipient of two prestigious literary awards, a 1932 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 1934 O...
and Allen Tate
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
at Idler's Retreat, a large Antebellum
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
house in Smyrna, Tennessee
Smyrna, Tennessee
Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 25,569 people at the 2000 census. The Census estimate of the 2009 population is 39,142.-Geography:Smyrna is located at ....
, which Frances had inherited. When they were received into the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in 1953, Gordon and Tate were their sponsors.
After Vanderbilt, Cheney became involved in journalism and politics, working for the Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
from 1925 to 1942, and later as public relations director for Tennessee governor Frank G. Clement
Frank G. Clement
Frank Goad Clement served as Governor of Tennessee from 1953 to 1959, and again from 1963 to 1967.-Early life:...
from 1952 to 1958. He later penned the governor's address at the 1956 Democratic National Convention
1956 Democratic National Convention
The 1956 National Convention of the Democratic Party nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for President and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for Vice President. It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois August 13–17 1956. Unsuccessful...
("How long oh Lord, how long..."), as well as assisting Robert Penn Warren with some of the speeches included in his novel, All the King's Men
All the King's Men
All the King's Men is a novel by Robert Penn Warren first published in 1946. Its title is drawn from the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. In 1947 Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for All the King's Men....
.
Cheney wrote two plays, Strangers in This World, produced at the Vanderbilt University Theater in February 1952 and at the Little Theater, University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
, Belknap Campus, in January 1956, and I Choose to Die, produced at the Vanderbilt University Theater in November 1960.
In August 1952, Cheney wrote an appreciative review of Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
's first novel, Wise Blood
Wise Blood
Wise Blood is the first novel by American author Flannery O'Connor, published in 1952. The novel was assembled from several disparate stories first published in Mademoiselle, Sewanee Review, and Partisan Review...
. Obtaining Cheney's address from Caroline Gordon, O'Connor wrote to thank him for writing about her book "so carefully and with so much understanding". In his reply, Cheney described himself to the Catholic O'Connor as "an ex-Protestant, ex-agnostic, who had just found his way back (after 10 or 12 generations) to The Church". The Cheneys visited O'Connor for the first time in June 1953. They became close friends with O'Connor and corresponded and shared ideas with her until her death in 1964. Like O'Connor, Cheney was interested in the work of Teilhard de Chardin, about whom in 1965 he co-authored an essay, "Has Teilhard de Chardin Really Joined the Within and Without of Things?", published in The Sewanee Review.
Cheney returned to Georgia in the early 1980s to celebrate a reprinting of his first two novels and the Altamaha R.A.F.T. (Restoring Altamaha Folk Traditions) festival. For the festival, Cheney, who had served as a raft-hand in about 1917, piloted a reconstructed timber raft all the way to the coast at Darien, Georgia
Darien, Georgia
Darien is a city in McIntosh County, Georgia, United States. It lies on Georgia's coast at the mouth of the Altamaha River about 50 miles south of Savannah, and is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Darien was 1,719 at the 2000 census. The city is the...
. Cheney died in Nashville in 1990 at the age of eighty-nine. His wife died in 1996, also at the age of eighty-nine.
Cheney's novels reveal his desire for a return to a simpler way of life, one founded on natural cycles and rooted in an appreciation of the land. His tragic characters often go astray by attempting to urbanize themselves or betray their own way of life. In his work, redemption can only be achieved by a return to a farm or a religious conversion, as in Devil's Elbow.
Novels
- Lightwood (1939). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
- River Rogue (1942). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
- This Is Adam (1958). New York: McDowell, Obolensky.
- Devil's Elbow (1969). New York: Crown Publishers.
Correspondence
- The Correspondence of Flannery O'Connor and the Brainard Cheneys (1986), ed. C. Ralph Stevens. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.