Jean Stafford (July 1, 1915 – March 26, 1979) was an American short story writer and novelist. She won the

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published durin ...

for '' The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford'' in 1970.

Biography

She was born in

Covina, California Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 2010 census. The city's slogan, ...

, to Mary Ethel (McKillop) and John Richard Stafford, a Western pulp writer. As a youth Stafford attended the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

and, with friend James Robert Hightower, won a one-year fellowship to study

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

from 1936 to 1937. Her first novel, ''Boston Adventure'', was a best-seller, earning her national acclaim. She wrote two more novels in her career, but her greatest medium was the short story: her works were published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' and various literary magazines. In 1955 she won first place in the O. Henry Awards for her story ''In the Zoo''. For the academic year 1964–1965, she was a Fellow on the faculty at the Center for Advanced Studies of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

. Stafford's personal life was often marked by unhappiness. She was married three times. Her first

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

, to the brilliant but mentally unstable poet

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the '' Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

in 1940, left her with lingering emotional and physical scars. She was seriously injured in an automobile accident with Lowell at the wheel in 1938, a trauma she described in one of her best-known stories, "The Interior Castle," and the disfigurement she suffered as a result was a turning point in her life. A second marriage to ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

'' magazine staff writer Oliver Jensen also ended in divorce. Stafford enjoyed a brief period of domestic happiness with her third husband, A. J. Liebling, a prominent writer for ''

''. After his death in 1963, she nearly stopped writing fiction, though she continued to write non-fiction essays.

Death and legacy

For many years Stafford suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, depression, and pulmonary disease. By age sixty-three she had almost stopped eating and died of cardiac arrest in White Plains,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in 1979. She was buried in

Green River Cemetery Green River Cemetery is a cemetery in the hamlet of Springs, New York within the Town of East Hampton. The cemetery was originally intended for the blue collar local families (called Bonackers) of the Springs neighborhood who supported the ocea ...

East Hampton, New York The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a tot ...

. Several biographies of Jean Stafford were written following her death, notably David Roberts' ''Jean Stafford: a Biography'' (1988), Charlotte Margolis Goodman's ''Jean Stafford: The Savage Heart'' (1990), and Ann Hulbert's ''The Interior Castle: The Art and Life of Jean Stafford'' (1992).

Works

* ''

Boston Adventure Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

'',

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...

(novel) * '' The Mountain Lion'',

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

(novel) * '' The Catherine Wheel'',

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

(novel) * ''Children Are Bored on Sunday'', 1953 (short stories), includes "The Interior Castle" (1946) * ''Prize Stories 1955: The O. Henry Awards'', 1955 (short stories), includes "In the Zoo" (1955) * ''A Book of Stories'', 1957 (contributes five stories) * ''Elephi: The Cat with the High I.Q.'', 1962 (juvenile) * ''The Lion and the Carpenter and Other Tales from the Arabian Tales Retold'', 1962 (juvenile) * ''Bad Characters'', 1964 (short stories) * ''A Mother in History'', 1966, a profile of

Marguerite Oswald Marguerite Frances Claverie Oswald Ekdahl (also known as Marguerite Oswald), (July 19, 1907 – January 17, 1981) was the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald. Early life and family New Orleans and Dallas Oswald was born Marguerite Frances Claverie in 1 ...

, mother of

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

* '' Collected Stories'',

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Adaptations

*In 1952, ''Hope Chest'' was adapted into a 30 minute long film, starring

Florence Bates Florence Bates ( Rabe; April 15, 1888 - January 31, 1954), was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Life and career Bates was the second child born to Jewish immigrant par ...

. *In 1982, Stafford's short story ''The Scarlet Letter'' was adapted into a 30 minute long TV film, starring

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

as Virgil Meade.

References

External links

*
Jean Stafford
at Internet Accuracy Project *
An Influx of Poets
a novel excerpt, ''

Narrative Magazine ''Narrative'' is an online magazine and website that is dedicated to advancing the literary arts in the digital age and publishes fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and art. It was founded in 2003. History and profile Founded in 2003, the l ...

,'' (Spring 2004).
Articles in ''Western American Literature'' on Jean Stafford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, Jean 1915 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American novelists American women novelists American women short story writers O. Henry Award winners Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners Alcohol-related deaths in New York (state) People from East Hampton (town), New York University of Colorado alumni Wesleyan University faculty 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers Writers from California Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Connecticut Burials at Green River Cemetery American women academics Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters