Jessamyn West Biography

Jessamyn West, Author
Occup.Author
FromUSA
BornJune 18, 1902
DiedFebruary 23, 1984
Aged81 years
Jessamyn West was birthed Mary Jessamyn West on July 18, 1902, in Vernon, Indiana, to Jesse West and also Grace Anna Milhous West. She was an American author best recognized for her stories as well as narratives that accepted a mix of Quaker worths, the American frontier spirit, and also humanist motifs. Jessamyn took pleasure in a close family members partnership with her cousin, Richard Nixon, that also had Quaker roots and also at some point ended up being the 37th President of the United States.

West spent her very early childhood years in Indiana before her family relocated to California in 1909. She received her key education and learning in a one-room schoolhouse and went to Whittier College, a Quaker establishment, finishing her undergraduate research studies in English Literature in 1923. Following her graduation, West taught at several institutions in the South before returning to Whittier to instruct secondary school.

In 1929, she wed Harry Maxwell McPherson, a Los Angeles County supervisor, and also adopted his surname. Although Jessamyn as well as Harry did not have children, they continue to be wedded till her death in 1984.

In 1931, at the age of 29, West was detected with tuberculosis and admitted to a sanatorium for treatment. It was throughout this period that she started writing, changing her experiences right into fictional tales. Her first story, "A Traveler from Altruria", appeared in Harper's Bazaar in 1938. From that factor on, West committed herself to an occupation in composing.

Her advancement as a writer featured her initial novel, "The Friendly Persuasion", published in 1945. Guide, a collection of interrelated narratives, is set in the country Indiana Quaker neighborhood throughout the 19th century as well as depicts the domesticity of the Birdwells. "The Friendly Persuasion" obtained extensive honor and also was later adapted right into an effective movie in 1956, starring Gary Cooper as well as Dorothy McGuire.

Throughout her occupation, Jessamyn West created over 20 publications, including books, short stories, autobiographical jobs, as well as verse. A few of her notable works consist of "Cress Delahanty" (1953), "A Matter of Time" (1966), "Except for Me as well as Thee" (1969), "The Secret Look" (1974), and also "The Massacre at Fall Creek" (1975). West's writing design was noteworthy for its warmth, mild wit, and also representations of level of sensitivity and issue for individual dignity.

Along with her writing, West was active in the literary and also arts community. She got honorary levels from several institutions, including Whittier College as well as Indiana University. Her work was acknowledged with notable awards, such as the William Dean Howells Medal from the American Academy of Arts as well as Letters in 1976 as well as the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award in 1984.

Jessamyn West passed away on February 23, 1984, at the Napa Valley, California, after a long as well as effective career in American literature. Her contributions to American letters are still recognized as well as commemorated today, thanks to her unique blend of Quaker worths, humanist styles, as well as the expedition of the American frontier spirit in her job.

Our collection contains 30 quotes who is written / told by Jessamyn, under the main topics: History - Humor - Imagination.

Related authors: William Dean Howells (Author), Gary Cooper (Actor), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Dorothy McGuire (Actress)

Jessamyn West Famous Works:
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30 Famous quotes by Jessamyn West

Small: A broken bone can heal, but the wound a word opens can fester forever
"A broken bone can heal, but the wound a word opens can fester forever"
Small: A big iron needle stitching the country together
"A big iron needle stitching the country together"
Small: Nothing is so dear as what youre about to leave
"Nothing is so dear as what you're about to leave"
Small: Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures
"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures"
Small: Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary
"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary"
Small: Teaching is the royal road to learning
"Teaching is the royal road to learning"
Small: Sleeplessness is a desert without vegetation or inhabitants
"Sleeplessness is a desert without vegetation or inhabitants"
Small: Only a fool would refuse to enter a fools paradise when thats the only paradise hell ever have a chance
"Only a fool would refuse to enter a fool's paradise when that's the only paradise he'll ever have a chance to enter"
Small: Faithfulness to the past can be a kind of death above ground. Writing of the past is a resurrection the
"Faithfulness to the past can be a kind of death above ground. Writing of the past is a resurrection; the past then lives in your words and you are free"
Small: A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appre
"A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself"
Small: A religious awakening which does not awaken the sleeper to love has roused him in vain
"A religious awakening which does not awaken the sleeper to love has roused him in vain"
Small: A rattlesnake that doesnt bite teaches you nothing
"A rattlesnake that doesn't bite teaches you nothing"
Small: Memory is a magnet. It will pull to it and hold only material nature has designed it to attract
"Memory is a magnet. It will pull to it and hold only material nature has designed it to attract"
Small: Justice is a terrible but necessary thing
"Justice is a terrible but necessary thing"
Small: It is very east to forgive others their mistakes it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for ha
"It is very east to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own"
Small: In their sympathies, children feel nearer animals than adults
"In their sympathies, children feel nearer animals than adults"
Small: In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured succ
"In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured success: did some man want her?"
Small: If you want a baby, have a new one. Dont baby the old one
"If you want a baby, have a new one. Don't baby the old one"
Small: If you train people properly, they wont be able to tell a drill from the real thing. If anything, the r
"If you train people properly, they won't be able to tell a drill from the real thing. If anything, the real thing will be easier"
Small: Ive done more harm by the falseness of trying to please than by the honesty of trying to hurt
"I've done more harm by the falseness of trying to please than by the honesty of trying to hurt"
Small: Groan and forget it
"Groan and forget it"
Small: Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer.
"Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking"
Small: We want the facts to fit the preconceptions. When they dont it is easier to ignore the facts than to ch
"We want the facts to fit the preconceptions. When they don't it is easier to ignore the facts than to change the preconceptions"
Small: We can love an honest rogue, but what is more offensive than a false saint?
"We can love an honest rogue, but what is more offensive than a false saint?"
Small: There are two barriers that often prevent communication between the young and their elders. The first i
"There are two barriers that often prevent communication between the young and their elders. The first is middle-aged forgetfulness of the fact that they themselves are no longer young. The second is youthful ignorance of the fact that the middle aged are still alive"
Small: The West is color. Its colors are animal rather than vegetable, the colors of earth and sunlight and ri
"The West is color. Its colors are animal rather than vegetable, the colors of earth and sunlight and ripeness"
Small: The source of ones joy is also often the source of ones sorrow
"The source of one's joy is also often the source of one's sorrow"
Small: The sick soon come to understand that they live in a different world from that of the well and that the
"The sick soon come to understand that they live in a different world from that of the well and that the two cannot communicate"
Small: The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future
"The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future"
Small: The basic essential of a great actor is that he loves himself in acting
"The basic essential of a great actor is that he loves himself in acting"