Research Catalog

Title

The voice of small-town America : the selected writings of Robert Quillen, 1920-1948 / compiled and edited by John Hammond Moore.

Author

Quillen, Robert, 1887-1948.

Publication

Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, [2008], ©2008.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Moore, John Hammond.

Description

xxi, 321 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"Deemed "the Sage of Fountain Inn" by Alexander Woollcott, newspaper publisher and editor Robert Quillen (1887-1948) used the forum of the Fountain Inn Tribune to bring his anecdotes and opinions from small-town upstate South Carolina to an international audience. The Mark Twain or Garrison Keillor of his day, Quillen developed a reputation as an authentic voice of small-town life, and his words were reprinted in Collier's, the Saturday Evening Post, Literary Digest, and other publications. At the height of his syndication, Quillen's writings could be found in more than four hundred newspapers in North America and Europe with a combined circulation above twelve million. Edited by historian John Hammond Moore, the essays, editorials, oneliners, fables, and random comments collected in this volume return to print Quillen's wit and insights after a decades-long hiatus." "A native of Kansas, Quillen became a converted southerner over time, and his conservative opinions - especially concerning national politics, Depression-era reforms, and the war effort - reflect those circumstances. Presented in chronological order, the previously published and unpublished pieces collected in this volume include Quillen's rants against noisy neighbors, barking dogs, cats, birds, litter, bootleggers, lynching, sordid county politics, and the encroachment of the federal government. Here, too, are his most famous hometown characters, Willie Willis and Aunt Het, as well as "Letters to Louise," his comic public messages to his teenage daughter that proved wildly popular with everyone but the addressee." "In addition to Quillen's pieces, Moore also provides a brief biography and overview of his subject's career and literary aspirations beyond the venue of newsprint. Seven photographs and drawings add a visual element to the collection."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Quillen, Robert, 1887-1948 > Anecdotes
• City and town life > South Carolina > History > 20th century > Anecdotes
• City and town life > Fountain Inn > History > 20th century > Anecdotes
• Newspaper editors > Fountain Inn > Anecdotes
• City and town life > Southern States > History > 20th century > Anecdotes
• South Carolina > Social life and customs > 20th century > Anecdotes
• Fountain Inn (S.C.) > Social life and customs > 20th century > Anecdotes
• Fountain Inn (S.C.) > Anecdotes
• Southern States > Social life and customs > 20th century > Anecdotes

Note

• "Published in cooperation with the South Caroliniana Library, with the assistance of the Caroline McKissick Dial Publication Fund and the University South Caroliniana Society."

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

1925: Wives, Gals, and Mother Eve -- 1926: "You Can't Trust Spring" -- 1928: "As an Uplifter and Reformer, I Am a Dud" -- 1929: "The Bride Is a Skinny, Fast Little Idiot" -- 1930: The Tragic Death of Jack DuPre -- 1931: "The Tribune Is Merely a Private Hobby" -- 1932: Jenkins the Bolshevist, "Cotton Ed," and FDR -- 1933: "Nobody Is Making Money" -- 1934: "Ye Cannot Love Both Birds and Cats" -- 1935: How Rabbits Became Weak Little Runts -- 1936-1946: Dealing with Change -- 1947: "The Missus Runs the Whole Shebang" -- 1948: "Louise, Your Dad Was a Good Man"

ISBN

• 9781570037108 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 1570037108 (cloth : alk. paper)

LCCN

• 2007025088
• 40015106441

OCLC

• 145937668
• ocn145937668
• SCSB-5391275

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries