Contemporary American Literature Part 50

The Rich Mrs. Burgoyne. 1912.

*"Sat.u.r.day's Child." 1914.

The Story of Julia Page. 1915.

The Heart of Rachael. 1916.

Martie, the Unconquered. 1917.

The Beloved Woman. 1921.

Lucretia Lombard. 1922.

STUDIES AND REVIEWS

Overton.

Bookm. 34 ('11): 437 (portrait); 37 ('13): 109 (portrait).

See also _Book Review Digest_, 1911, 1913-7.

+Grace Fallow Norton+--poet.

Born at Northfield, Minnesota, 1876.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Little Gray Songs from St. Joseph's. 1912.

The Sister of the Wind. 1914.

Roads. 1916.

What is Your Legion? 1916.

STUDIES AND REVIEWS

Poetry, 5 ('14): 87; 11 ('17): 164.

See also _Book Review Digest_, 1912, 1914, 1916.

+Frederick O'Brien+--travel writer.

Mr. O'Brien's account of his experiences in the Marquesas Islands created a literary fashion for the South Sea Islands.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

White Shadows in the South Seas. 1919.

Mystic Isles of the South Seas. 1921.

See _Book Review Digest_, 1919, 1921.

+Eugene Gladstone O'Neill+--dramatist.

Born in New York City, 1888. Son of the actor, James O'Neill. Studied at Princeton, 1906-7. Much of the material used in his plays seems to be drawn from or based upon his adventurous experiences between 1907 and 1914. Actor and newspaper reporter. Spent two years at sea. In 1909, is said to have gone on a gold-prospecting expedition in Spanish Honduras (cf. _Gold_). Lived in the Argentine. Threatened tuberculosis gave him his first leisure (cf. _The Straw_). In 1914-5, he studied dramatization at Harvard. In 1918, when he married, he went to live in a deserted life-saving station near Provincetown. a.s.sociated with the Provincetown Players. In 1920, his _Beyond the Horizon_ was given the Pulitzer Prize.

SUGGESTIONS FOR READING

1. What effect has Mr. O'Neill's life experience had upon the quality of his plays?

2. What evidence of originality do you find in his (1) themes, (2) background, and (3) technique?

3. Consider the influence of Joseph Conrad (cf. Manly and Rickert, _Contemporary British Literature_) upon O'Neill. Read especially _The n.i.g.g.e.r of the "Narcissus."_

4. How has Mr. O'Neill been influenced by the plays of John Millington Synge?

5. What do you make of the fact that Mr. O'Neill has struck out in various directions instead of working a particular vein?

6. What reasons do you find for the common opinion that he is our most promising dramatist? What limitations or weaknesses do you think may interfere with his development? Do you think he will become a great dramatist?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thirst, and Other One-Act Plays. 1914. (The Web, Warnings, Fog, Recklessness.) Before Breakfast. 1916.

The Moon of the Caribbees, and Other Plays of the Sea. 1919. (Bound East for Cardiff; The Long Voyage Home; In the Zone; Ile; Where the Cross is Made; The Rope.) *Chris Christopherson. 1919. (Produced as Anna Christie, quoted with ill.u.s.trations, Cur. Op. 72 ['22]: 57.) *Beyond the Horizon. 1920.

Gold. 1920.

The Emperor Jones; Diff'rent; The Straw. 1921.

The Hairy Ape; Anna Christie; The First Man. 1922.

STUDIES AND REVIEWS

Bookm. 53 ('21): 511; 54 ('22): 463.

Century, 103 ('22): 351 (portrait).

Cur. Op. 65 ('18): 159 (portrait); 68 ('20): 339.

Everybody's, 43 ('20): July, p. 49 (portrait).

Freeman, 1 ('20): 44.

Ind. 105 ('21): 158 (portrait).

Nation, 113 ('21): 626.

New Repub. 25 ('21): 173.

Theatre Arts M. 4 ('20): 286; 5 ('21): 174 (portrait only).

+James Oppenheim+--novelist, short-story writer, poet.

Born at St. Paul, Minnesota, 1882. Two years later his family moved to New York, where he has lived ever since. Special student at Columbia, 1901-3. Has done settlement work, as a.s.sistant head worker of the Hudson Guild Settlement. Superintendent of the Hebrew Technical School for Girls, 1904-7. In 1916-7 edited the magazine, _The Seven Arts_ (cf.

_Poetry_, 9 ['16-'17]: 214).