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| 3/8/1935 |
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Wolfe, Perkins, Time and the River
On this day in 1935 Thomas Wolfe's Of Time and the River was published. Wolfe would die three-and-a-half years later, at the age of thirty-seven; this was the last of his novels published in his lifetime. The legendary story of how his million-word, "Leviathan" manuscript was wrestled into shape is funny, poignant and full justification for editor Maxwell Perkins' initial feeling "that Wolfe was a turbulent spirit, and that we were in for turbulence." |
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| 8/10/1637 |
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John Milton, Thomas Wolfe, Angels
On this day in 1637, Edward King, college friend of John Milton, was drowned at sea; three months later, Milton published his commemorative poem, "Lycidas." This is one of the major contributions to the elegiac tradition, giving not only inspiration to Shelley ("Adonais") and Tennyson ("In Memoriam") but a title to Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward Angel. |
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| 9/18/1940 |
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Thomas Wolfe, Going Home
On this day in 1940, Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again was published, two years after his death from tubercular meningitis at the age of thirty-seven:
"Something has spoken to me in the night, burning the tapers of the waning year; something has spoken in the night, and told me I shall die, I know not where. . . ." |
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Literary Traveler: "Thomas Wolfe's Dixieland"
Find an article about the Wolfe family's Old Kentucky Home, or, Dixieland, which the author made a literary landmark in Look Homeward Angel. An article about Wolfe's death is also available.
"Reaction to the book was mixed in the Asheville. The Wolfe family accepted the book better than the town, which held a grudge. The characters in the novel are based on real people with the names changed and often times the portraits painted are not flattering. Many in Asheville took the book literally. So much so that for six years the Pack Memorial Library did not have a copy of the book. Not until F. Scott Fitzgerald, after being told the Library did not have a copy, went out and bought two and brought them there. Slowly the wounds in the town began to heal, and after a voluntary exile of over seven years, Wolfe returned home in May of 1937 to a reception worthy of a native son." |  | Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide
Find a lengthy bibliography of works by and about the author, including biographies and literary criticism. | | The Thomas Wolfe Website
Offers a biography, photo gallery, extensive bibliography, and links to related publications, historical societies, and collections. | | Thomas Wolfe Memoiral - Ashville, North Carolina
Find a biography, timeline of events in the author's life, information about his extended family, and bibliography. Also includes information about the on-going restoration of Dixieland to repair damage caused by an arsonist in 1998.
"Just before the publication date of his first novel, Wolfe felt a strong need to return home and warn his family. Although his note 'To the Reader' (which prefaces the novel) claims that Wolfe 'meditated no man's portrait here,' the truth was that over two hundred characters were based on living people, mostly citizens of Asheville. This included the Wolfe family themselves. Their personal flaws, conflicts, and failures were presented clearly for the world to see. Wolfe knew instinctively that the book would arouse controversy, and he was right. Asheville was horrified, as was Wolfe's family, despite his early warning to them. Tom himself was so concerned over his hometown's reaction that he lived in self-imposed exile from Asheville for the next eight years." | |
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The TinL masthead features photography by
Natasha D'Schommer
, and the book art featured is by Jim Rosenau.
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