Philip Duffield Stong (January 27, 1899 – April 26, 1957) was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for the 1932 novel ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...

'', which was adapted as a film in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

, 1945,

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, and as a Broadway musical in 1996.

Biography

Stong was born in Pittsburg, Iowa, near Keosauqua. His father operated the general store, which is now an antique store. The 1844 brick house where Stong was born is located adjacent to the store and is now a private residence. He attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. Stong scored his first success in 1932 with the publication of his famous novel, ''State Fair'', which was later adapted for the screen as the hit Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name. In addition to his novels, his short stories were published in most of the leading national magazines of the time, and he wrote several screenplays. His novel ''Stranger's Return'' was also made into a motion picture, starring Academy Award winning actor Lionel Barrymore. About his writing career, he once said, "Fell while trying to clamber out of a low bathtub at the age of two. Became a writer. No other possible career." In a poll carried out by the '' Saturday Review of Literature'' asking American writers which Presidential candidate they endorsed in the 1940 election, Stong stated that he had voted for

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in the 1936 election, but that he was now going to vote for Wendell Willkie.''"Among those who voted for Mr.Roosevelt in 1936 but who will support the Republican candidate next Tuesday are... Phil Stong..."'' "Editorial: Presidential Poll", ''Saturday Review of Literature''. November 2, 1940 (p.8). Stong created a 466-page anthology published by Wilfred Funk in 1941, ''The Other Worlds'', later issued with the descriptive subtitle ''25 Modern Stories of Mystery and Imagination''. It was considered by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American science fiction author and editor. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a SFWA Grand ...

(in the foreword to '' Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction'') to be the first anthology of science-fiction. Compiling stories from 1930s

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

s, along with what Stong called "Scientifiction" (a term created by magazine publisher and editor Hugo Gernsback), it also contained works of horror and fantasy. ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' describes it as "about half sf and half horror" and observes that for science fiction the pulp magazines were a new source of material for hardcover reissue. In his essay ''How to Name a Dog,'' James Thurber reports that he met Stong's spaniel and learned, to its owner's embarrassment, that the dog's name was Thurber. He suggests, by way of revenge, that the reader name his dog Stong. Asked in 1951 to comment on

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

, Stong responded: "I’ve never gone deeply enough into any of the various definitions of “humanism” to be able to make any intelligent or instructive comment on the subject. When I read any of these tenuous expositions, they remind me (a) of the blind men and the elephant and (b) that I'd better have a glass of beer and get to bed. I don't see how you distinguish between the humanism of More and that of Dewey or of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

or Lackland or

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

or Bunyan or Saintsbury or Taine. The boys that practice it seem to me tremendously more effective than the ones who preach it from the varied pulpits." Stong published more than forty books. He died of a heart attack at his home in Washington, Connecticut, on April 26, 1957. He is buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Keosauqua.

Books

Adult

*''Adventures of "Horse" Barnsby'' (1956) *''Blizzard'' (1955) *''Buckskin Breeches'' (1937) *''Career'' (1936) *''Farmer in the Dell'' (1935) *''Gold in Them Hills'' (1957) *''Hiram, the Hillbilly'' (1951) *''Horses and Americans'' (1939) *''The Iron Mountain'' (1942) *''Ivanhoe Keeler'' (1939) *''Jessamy John'' (1947) *''The Long Lane'' (1939) *''Mississippi Pilot'' (1954) *''One Destiny'' (1941) *''The Princess'' (1941) *''The Rebellion of Lennie Barlow'' (1937) *''Return in August'' (1953) *''

'' (1932) *''Stranger's Return'' (1933) *''Village Tale'' (1934) *''Week-end'' (1935) *''Marta of Muscovy'' (1945)

Edited by

* '' The Other Worlds: 25 Modern Stories of Mystery and Imagination'''' ( Wilfred Funk, 1941); (Garden City Publishing, 1942). Retrieved September 20, 2014

Juvenile

*'' Honk, the Moose'' (1935;

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

Honor Book) *''Farm Boy: A Hunt for Indian Treasure'' (1934) *''Phil Stong's Big Book: Farm Boy; High Water; No-Sitch, The Hound'' (1937) *''Young Settler'' *''The Hired Man's Elephant'' (1939) *"Captain Kidd's Cow" (1941) *''Way Down Cellar'' (1942) *''Censored, the Goat'' (1945) ''State Fair'' and ''Marta of Muscovy'' were published as Armed Services Editions during WWII.

References

;Citations * Hassler, Donald M. (

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

). "Phil(ip) (Duffield) Stong." Located in: Greasley, Philip A. (editor) ''Dictionary of Midwestern Literature: The Authors''.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, January 1, 2001. , 9780253336095.

External links

* *
Phil Stong's Papers
are housed at the University Of Iowa Special Collections & Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Stong, Phil 1899 births 1957 deaths American children's writers Newbery Honor winners Drake University alumni People from Van Buren County, Iowa Novelists from Iowa 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Iowa American male screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters