Dorothy Scarborough
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Scarborough was an American
writer who wrote about Texas
, folk culture, cotton farming
, ghost stories
and a woman's life in the Southwest.
. At the age of four she moved to Sweetwater, Texas
for her mother's health, as her mother needed the drier climate. The family soon left Sweetwater in 1887, so that the Scarborough children could get a good education at Baylor College.
and Oxford University and beginning in 1916 taught literature at Columbia University
.
While receiving her PhD from Columbia, she wrote a dissertation, "The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction (1917)". Sylvia Ann Grider writes in a critical introduction the dissertation "was so widely acclaimed by her professors and colleagues that it was published and it has become a basic reference work."
Dorothy Scarborough came in contact with many writers in New York
, including Edna Ferber
and Vachel Lindsay
. She taught creative writing
classes at Columbia. Among her creative writing students were Eric Walrond
, and Carson McCullers
, who took her first college writing class from Scarborough.
Her most critically acclaimed book, The Wind
, was later made into a film of the same name
starring Lilian Gish.
:; edited by Dorothy Scarborough, with critical introduction
Foreword to The Wind by Sylvia Ann Grider, Barker Texas History Center series, University of Texas Press, 1979.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer who wrote about Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, folk culture, cotton farming
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, ghost stories
Ghost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
and a woman's life in the Southwest.
Early life
Scarborough was born in Mount Carmel, TexasSmith County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 people per square mile . There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
. At the age of four she moved to Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning...
for her mother's health, as her mother needed the drier climate. The family soon left Sweetwater in 1887, so that the Scarborough children could get a good education at Baylor College.
Academics and Writing
Even though Scarborough's writings are identified with Texas, she studied at University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and Oxford University and beginning in 1916 taught literature at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
While receiving her PhD from Columbia, she wrote a dissertation, "The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction (1917)". Sylvia Ann Grider writes in a critical introduction the dissertation "was so widely acclaimed by her professors and colleagues that it was published and it has become a basic reference work."
Dorothy Scarborough came in contact with many writers in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, including Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
and Vachel Lindsay
Vachel Lindsay
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. He is considered the father of modern singing poetry, as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted...
. She taught creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
classes at Columbia. Among her creative writing students were Eric Walrond
Eric D. Walrond
Eric Derwent Walrond was an African-American Harlem Renaissance writer, who made a lasting contribution to literature; his work still being in print today as a classic of its era...
, and Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South...
, who took her first college writing class from Scarborough.
Her most critically acclaimed book, The Wind
The Wind (novel)
The Wind, a supernatural novel by Dorothy Scarborough depicts the loneliness of life in a small Texas town during the 1880's. It was later made into a film called The Wind starring Lilian Gish. She originally published this novel anonymously anticipating a rough reception in Texas.According to...
, was later made into a film of the same name
The Wind
The Wind is a 1928 American dramatic silent film directed by Victor Sjöström. The movie was adapted by Frances Marion from the novel The Wind written by Dorothy Scarborough. It features Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming, and others...
starring Lilian Gish.
Original works
- Fugitive Verses (1912), original verses
- The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction (1917); available in its entirety at Google Book Search
- From a Southern Porch (1919), viewable in full at Google Book Search or viewable at the Portal to Texas History
- Humorous Ghost Stories (1921) edited
- In the Land of Cotton (1923)
- On the Trail of Negro Folksongs (1925) available at archive.org
- The WindThe Wind (novel)The Wind, a supernatural novel by Dorothy Scarborough depicts the loneliness of life in a small Texas town during the 1880's. It was later made into a film called The Wind starring Lilian Gish. She originally published this novel anonymously anticipating a rough reception in Texas.According to...
(1925), considered her most acclaimed work. - The Unfair Sex (serialized, 1925–26)
- Impatient Griselda (1927)
- Can't Get a Redbird (1929)
- Stretch-Berry Smile (1932)
- The Story of Cotton (1933) juvenile reader
- Selected Short Stories of Today (1935)
- Song Catcher in Southern Mountains; American Folk Songs of British Ancestry (1937, posthumous)
:; edited by Dorothy Scarborough, with critical introduction
Biographical/critical essays
Biographical Essay on the Handbook of Texas OnlineForeword to The Wind by Sylvia Ann Grider, Barker Texas History Center series, University of Texas Press, 1979.