Janet Loxley Lewis (August 17, 1899 – December 1, 1998) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and librettist.

Biography

Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was a graduate of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where she was a member of a literary circle that included

Glenway Wescott Glenway Wescott (April 11, 1901 – February 22, 1987) was an American poet, novelist and essayist. A figure of the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s, Wescott was openly gay.Eric Haralson, ''Henry James and Queer Mo ...

, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, and her future husband

Yvor Winters Arthur Yvor Winters (October 17, 1900 – January 25, 1968) was an American poet and literary critic. Life Winters was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived there until 1919 except for brief stays in Seattle and Pasadena, where his grandparents ...

. She was an active member of the University of Chicago Poetry Club. She taught at both

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

. She wrote ''

The Wife of Martin Guerre ''The Wife of Martin Guerre'' (first published 1941) is a short novel by United States, American writer Janet Lewis based on the story of Martin Guerre, the 16th-century French peasant who apparently returned home to his wife after a long absen ...

'' (1941) which is the tale of one man's deception and another's cowardice. Her first novel was ''The Invasion: A Narrative of Events Concerning the Johnston Family of St. Mary's'' (1932). Other prose works include ''The Trial of Soren Qvist'' (1947), ''The Ghost of Monsieur Scarron'' (1959), and the volume of short fiction, ''Good-bye, Son, and Other Stories'' (1946).Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources—American Literary Studies: Janet Lewis Paper

/ref> Lewis was also a poet, and concentrated on imagery, rhythms, and lyricism to achieve her goal. Among her works are ''The Indians in the Woods'' (1922), and the later collections ''Poems, 1924–1944'' (1950), and ''Poems Old and New, 1918–1978'' (1981). She also collaborated with Alva Henderson, a composer for whom she wrote three libretti and several song texts. She married the American poet and critic

in 1926. Together they founded ''Gyroscope'', a literary magazine that lasted from 1929 until 1931. Lewis was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1992. She died at her home in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Most of the city's growth ...

, in 1998, at the age of 99.

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''The Invasion: A Narrative of Events Concerning the Johnston Family of St. Mary's'' (1932) * ''

'' (1941) * ''Good-bye, Son, and Other Stories'' (1946) * ''The Trial of Soren Qvist'' (1947) * ''The Ghost of Monsieur Scarron'' (1959) * ''Against a Darkening Sky'' (1985)

Poetry

* ''The Indians in the Woods''. Published by

Monroe Wheeler Monroe Wheeler (13 February 1899 – 14 August 1988) was an American publisher and museum coordinator whose relationship with the novelist and poet Glenway Wescott lasted from 1919 until Wescott's death in 1987. Biography Wheeler was born in Evan ...

, as ''Manikin'' Number One,

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Germany, n.d. 922 * ''The Wheel in Midsummer'' Lynn, Mass, The Lone Gull, 1927. * ''The Earth-Bound'' Aurora, New York, Wells College Press, 1946 * ''Poems 1924 – 1944'' Denver, Alan Swallow, 1950 * ''The Ancient Ones'' Portola Valley, California: No Dead Lines, 1979 * ''The Indians in the Woods'' 2nd edition with new preface, Palo-Alto California, Matrix Press, 1980. * ''Poems Old and New 1918 – 1978'' Chicago/Athens, Ohio: Swallow Press / Ohio University Press 1981 * ''Late Offerings'' Florence, Ky, Robert L. Barth, 1988 * ''Janet and Deloss: Poems and Pictures'' San Diego, Brighton Press 1990 * ''The Dear Past and other poems 1919 – 1994'' Edgewood Ky, Robert L. Barth, 1994 * ''The Selected Poems of Janet Lewis'' Athens, Ohio, Swallow Press / Ohio University Press, 2000, .

Libretti

*''The Wife of Martin Guerre'', opera in three acts after her novel, music by

William Bergsma William Laurence Bergsma (April 1, 1921 – March 18, 1994) was an American composer and teacher. He was long associated with Juilliard School, where he taught composition, until he moved to the University of Washington as head of their music ...

(1956) *''The Last of the Mohicans'', opera in two acts after the novel by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

, music by Alva Henderson (1976) *''The Birthday of the Infanta'', opera after the story by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, music by Malcolm Seagrave (1979) *''The Swans'', opera in three acts after the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

, music by Alva Henderson (1986) *''The Legend'', opera after her novel ''The Invasion'', music by Bain Murray *''Mulberry Street'', opera after "The Room Across the Hall" by

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the Ma ...

, music by Alva Henderson (1988); later incorporated as Act II of ''West of Washington Square''

Notes

External links

*
Kathleen Foster Campbell Papers
at Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Janet Lewis Oral History
conducted by Margo Davis (1977)
Enduring Imagist: An Interview with Janet Lewis (1899–1998)
conducted by Catherine J. Kordich and Michael Dylan Welch (1997, 1998) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Janet 1899 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets American women poets American women short story writers American women novelists People from Los Altos, California Stanford University Department of English faculty University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty University of Chicago alumni Novelists from Chicago Poets from Chicago Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area American opera librettists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 20th-century American women writers Women librettists 20th-century American short story writers Novelists from California Women opera librettists