Erskine Caldwell Articles

Published November 24, 2003

Dr. D.W. Caldwell, son of writer Erskine Caldwell, will be coming to Coweta County from Massachusetts next month to help celebrate his father's 100th birthday.

Erskine Caldwell was born Dec. 17, 1903 near Moreland. The house in which he was born has been moved to Moreland's town square where it is a museum.

Erskine Caldwell wrote more than 50 books including "Tobacco Road," "God's Little Acre" and "Journeyman." He was named to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was honored by the governments of France and Bulgaria for his writing.

He died in 1987.

D.W. Caldwell will be coming to Moreland for "Centennial: Erskine Caldwell," a panel discussion and reception to be held Dec. 14 from 3-5 p.m. at the Moreland Mill. Four Caldwell scholars -- Dr. Edwin Arnold, Dr. Sylvia Jenkins Cooks, Dr. Robert McDonald and Dr. Wayne Mixon -- have agreed to participate in a panel discussion about Caldwell's significance in the annals of literature.

All four scholars have published books about Caldwell. Mixon and Arnold have also written introductions to Caldwell works republished in recent years by the University of Georgia Press.

"We are delighted to have four scholars of this caliber coming to Moreland to help us celebrate Mr. Caldwell's centennial," said Winston Skinner, chairman of the museum steering committee.

"We are particularly glad Dr. D.W. Caldwell and his wife are planning to be with us," Skinner said.

D.W. Caldwell recently retired from the earth science department at Boston University. He has written numerous scholarly articles and a popular guidebook, "The Roadside Geology of Maine."

Museum volunteer Gretchen Deichelbor is planning an elegant reception for the Dec. 14 event. Admission will be $5 per person. Checks may be made payable to Caldwell Birthplace, P. O. Box 207, Moreland, GA 30259.

People also may attend the reception by purchasing a museum membership. "Each $5 of membership entitles you to bring someone," Skinner said.

Membership levels are -- individual, $15; family, $25; sustaining, $50; donor, $100; patron, $200; benefactor, $300; gold, $1,000 and up. Membership dues may be sent to the same address. For family membership and above, names of household members should be listed.

"Those who are planning to attend the reception should also be listed," Skinner said. "There will not be tickets, but there will be a reservation list at the door."

Anyone with questions about the Dec. 14 event or the museum should call Skinner at 770-254-8657.

The museum has been celebrating Caldwell's centennial all year. The observance began with the annual student art reception in January, featuring work by local Governor's Honors Program nominees in art.

In the spring, the museum sponsored a Southern Storytelling Celebration featuring Margaret Anne Barnes, the author of "Murder In Coweta County"; Dot Moore, author of "Oracle of the Ages"; and John Hickman, a Cowetan with a yet-to-be-published novel.

From July-October, the museum featured "Into Flight," an exhibit of art by Melissa Richard and Fleming Blackburn. A tree limb was fashioned from a fallen limb. Affixed to it were 100 clay birds -- one representing each year since Erskine Caldwell's birth.

"The flight metaphor is particularly appropriate because the Wright brothers made their first successful airplane flight at Kitty Hawk the day Erskine Caldwell was born," Skinner said. The museum's shop stocks first day covers of the aviation stamp and commemorative coin holders containing the North Carolina quarter with the first flight scene.

Writers Hall of Fame director talks about Caldwell, Grizzard

The director of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame came to Coweta County on Monday and talked about native authors Erskine Caldwell and Lewis Grizzard.

Skip Hulett, who directs the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame program at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia Libraries in Athens, spoke to Advanced Placement English students taught by Mrs. Laurie Jackson at Newnan High School on Monday afternoon. He talked about Grizzard and Caldwell and showed several things from the university's collection including two children's books written by Alice Walker, a photocopy of a letter Caldwell wrote to his parents and a book autographed by Dr. Martin Luther King.

Caldwell, whose birthplace is now a museum in Moreland, was one of 12 authors initially selected for the Hall of Fame. The others were King, Margaret Mitchell, James Dickey, W. E. B. DuBois, Joel Chandler Harris, John O. Killens, Sidney Lanier, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor and Lillian Smith.

The initial dozen and 2000 members Walker and Byron Herbert Reece were officially inducted in December.

Several of Jackson's students reported they had visited Caldwell's birthplace on Sunday afternoon. Jackson has been interested in the Hall of Fame project and has encouraged students to nominate their favorite Georgia writers for the program.

Hulett said the Hall of Fame is part of UGA's role as a land grant university. Land grant schools provide services not only to their students but to all residents of the state.

For several years, Georgia novelist Terry Kay had been encouraging Mary Ellen Brooks, who directs the Special Collections section at the university libraries, to do something like the Georgia Writer's Hall of Fame. Kay felt there was "not enough home grown attempts in Georgia to recognize Georgia writers," Hulett said.

When Brooks first broached the idea of the program, Hulett and other staffers began looking at the approximately 100,000 books and 1,000 periodicals in the collection. "We found we had thousands of books by and about Georgians. Some famous, some you never heard of," Hulett said.

In some cases, there were many books by an author. For others, "it was their only book," Hulett said.

The Hall of Fame accepts nominations in writing and via the Internet. Nominators must use a form, which can be downloaded. Nominees must be from Georgia or must have "completed a significant amount of work while in the state," Hulett said.

After the inaugural group was selected by a panel of judges, it was decided to select two each year. Walker was the first living writer in the group, and, at one time, the idea of adding a living and deceased writer yearly was considered. Ultimately that concept was scrapped in favor of flexibility for the annual judging.

"It doesn't matter if the writer is living or dead. They pick two a year," Hulett said.

"Y'all have Erskine Caldwell," he said, speaking of the inaugural group of authors. Although Grizzard has not yet been named to the Hall of Fame, he is "the one single writer I've been asked" about most, with regard to future inclusion, Hulett said.

Among recent writers Grizzard -- "along with someone of Alice Walker's stature" -- is well known in and out of the state, Hulett said.

Hulett showed the students a photocopy of a letter Caldwell wrote to his parents 73 years ago. The elder Caldwells were living in Georgia, while their only son and his first wife, Helen, were operating a bookstore in Portland, Maine.

In the letter, Caldwell wrote about his unsuccessful efforts to get short stories published. Hulett noted that Caldwell eventually penned more than 55 titles that sold between 80 and 100 million copies.

It was an accomplishment, Hulett said, simply "to have typed that much." Caldwell "wrote right up into the 1980s when he died," Hulett said.

Caldwell's works were often considered scandalous when first published. "He wrote about people who had not been written about as he had written about them," Hulett said.

They were dispossessed people -- frequently tenant farmer families on worn out land. They were "often impoverished, often outside of the changes in America in terms of transportation, in terms of money, in terms of information -- people who were left out," Hulett said.

Hulett shared several books by Caldwell as well as an artful reprint of an eloquent broadside Caldwell wrote when his first novel, "The Bastard," was banned and copies seized. "It is one of the rarest pieces of Erskine Caldwell's writing," he said.

Caldwell's best known books were "Tobacco Road" and "God's Little Acre." "Tobacco Road" -- while it had some popularity upon its release -- gained fame and book sales when it became a play on Broadway. "One of the greatest hits of the 20th century was 'Tobacco Road,'" Hulett noted.

He pointed out that two of Caldwell's novels were published as Armed Services Editions, given to soldiers along with cigarettes and Coca-Cola during World War II and Korea. "It was an honor. There really were only about 800" titles, Hulett said.

He said items in the university's collection relating to Grizzard are quite different from those for Caldwell, since much of Grizzard's work was written for newspapers. He shared a copy of The Times-Herald Centennial Magazine with articles by Grizzard, as well as examples of early writing in The Atlanta Times and The Athens Daily News.

He read an excerpt from an early Athens sports column which used "the character voices that Lewis Grizzard became very famous for."

* a letter to Carson McCullars from her agent detailing a long list of periodicals that had rejected a short story. She later expanded that story, "Sucker," into one of her best-known novels, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."

* a paperback by Pine Mountain science fiction writer Michael Bishop, winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards.

* a worn mid-19th century copy of Liberty County resident Robert Francis Goulding's "The Marooners." The then popular adventure series -- one of the few to include a female among its triumvirate of heroes -- was reprinted often until the end of that century but is virtually forgotten today.

* several editions of "Gone With the Wind." Hulett pointed out the greater variety of cover styles prior to 1939, afterwhich the scenes from the film -- or stylized versions of them -- predominated. He particularly noted the fine line drawings in an early Dutch edition.

* a copy of "Why We Can't Wait" by King, autographed with feeling by the author to liberal attorney Arthur Leonard Ross, who had represented anarchist Emma Goldman.

Caldwell inducted into Hall of Fame

Coweta native Erskine Caldwell was one of 14 authors recognized at first induction ceremony for the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in Athens on Thursday.

The Hall of Fame is located at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia main library. Caldwell was one of 12 authors initially selected for the Hall of Fame, and two will now be chosen on an annual basis.

Skip Hulett, director of the author recognition program, spoke briefly about each writer. In introducing Caldwell, the first writer recognized at Thursday's ceremonies, Hulett quoted Caldwell about his desire to reveal "the inner spirit of men and women as they responded to the joys of life and reacted to the sorrows of existence."

In such works as "Tobacco Road" and "God's Little Acre," "Caldwell sought to capture this spirit as it lived in the often ignored lives of the rural Southern poor," Hulett said. In doing so, "he produced two of the most popular and influential novels in 20th century America," he added.

Hulett also spoke of the positive reaction to Caldwell's short stories -- seven included in Best American Short Stories anthologies and four in the O. Henry Memorial Award series.

"In works of journalism such as 'Tenant Farmer' and 'You Have Seen Their Faces,' he crafted portraits of men and women entrenched in the tenant farm system and supplied reformers with testimony of its harshness," Hulett said.

Caldwell wrote 26 novels, 16 collections of stories, 15 non-fiction books, two children's books and a book-length poem. "At last count, his works had sold more than 80 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 43 languages," Hulett said.

Caldwell, who died in 1987, was chosen in 1984 by his peers for a seat "in the pantheon of the American Academy of Arts and Letters," Hulett noted.

Sara Jane Skinner, a Moreland resident and volunteer at the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum, accepted the award on behalf of Virginia Caldwell Hibbs, the novelist's widow, and the museum.

A retired high school English teacher, Skinner said she also was accepting the award on behalf of students who enjoyed his works and readers around the world as well as on behalf of her family which has lived "since the 1820s" -- and continues to live -- in the area where Caldwell was born almost a century ago.

Because Caldwell "was a champion of the downtrodden, we are a better people," Skinner said.

"We're here as a family bound by our dedication to the written word and our admiration for these writers," said Dr. William Gray Potter, university librarian.

Dr. Karen Holbrook, provost of the university, spoke of the honored writers "whose works have raised us up and made us be better people than we were." She also spoke of each writer's "impact on our state's culture and our literary heritage."

Several people who accepted awards also commented on the significance of the author recognition program. Martin Willett of the Sidney Lanier Cottage said he hoped the names of the recognized authors "might become household words in Georgia classrooms once again."

Annie Laurie Peeler, Lillian Smith's niece expressed similar thoughts. She said the recognition of the authors would "continue their memory among all the young people as they read all these books these authors have written."

"My words are not sufficient to express the importance of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame," said Louise Florencourt, Flannery O'Connor's cousin.

Following the presentation of the hinged wooden boxes -- each with the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame logo on on side and a bas relief of the honored author and an inscription on the other -- the group of more than 100 proceeded to another section of the Hargrett Library for unveiling of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame plaque.

The plaque features a lightly shaded map of Georgia. The names of each author are printed on a clear panels overlaying the map.

A new special collections facility is planned, with an area devoted to the Hall of Fame. The plaque "will certainly have a place of honor in that facility," Potter said.

The entry area of the Hargrett Library featured display cases devoted to each author. The Caldwell case included a 1929 letter he wrote to his parents, a "God's Little Acre" movie poster and copies of several books.

Current officers of the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum steering committee are, from left, treasurer Joyce Evans, secretary Claire Berube and chairman Winston Skinner. Evans and Skinner are longtime officers, and Berube recently joined the board.

"Tobacco Road" on list of top 100 novels

More than 60 years after he wrote his best-known works, Coweta County native Erskine Caldwell is in the news again.

Caldwell's 1932 book, "Tobacco Road," is included in Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels in English since 1900. The release of the list this week provoked controversy because of the dearth of ethnic writers and the omission of such noted women as Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor.

"Erskine Caldwell would probably love the controversy," said Winston Skinner, chairman of the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum in Moreland. "He was the center of controversy for much of his life and probably would enjoy the current brouhaha."

Caldwell died in 1987. "Tobacco Road" is listed in 91st place, between "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie and "Ironweed" by William Kennedy. Modern Library is a division of Random House.

In "Tobacco Road," Caldwell turned to the images of poverty gleaned from his childhood as a minister's son traveling from place to place across the South. "The dramatization of the story by Jack Kirkland was an immense success which helped reinvigorate interest in 'Tobacco Road' and promoted Caldwell's next book 'God's Little Acre,'" Skinner said.

Caldwell's fans know what it is like to have their favorite writer included - and excluded. The Caldwell Museum board joined family members and literature buffs in complaining about the omission of Caldwell from the latest edition of "The Literature of the American South: A Norton Anthology."

Norton officials have indicated a story by Caldwell will be included in the upcoming editions of the Southern anthology.

Caldwell also is the topic of a new Internet web site put together by his stepson, Drew Fletcher. Fletcher's site has several pages which include a biography of the Coweta-born author, a section on six of his best-known novels, a list of 24 short stories that are considered among Caldwell's best, a page on his non-fiction, a page on stage and screen adaptations of Caldwell's work, a complete list of everything he published and a resource page.

"I was trying to think of some way to rekindle an appreciation of Erskine Caldwell. I think, in this day and age, a page on the World Wide Web would probably be the best I could do," said Fletcher, who lives in Ashland, Ore.

Fletcher's memories of Caldwell, who married his mother Virginia in 1957, are pleasant. "He just led a quite routine that was based around his writing. His writing always came first," Fletcher said.

"Basically, weekdays he would write all day and take a break for lunch and getting the mail. I think he might have written on weekends unless we had something to do," Fletcher said.

Fletcher's page is linked to The Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum page, which is maintained by The Times-Herald. "I'll probably be expanding it and adding to it. I don't think it's the final page," Fletcher said.

Erskine Caldwell fans ticked

Four decades ago, Coweta County native Erskine Caldwell was the fastest selling author in the world.

When the Norton anthology publishers got ready to present their most recent anthology of Southern literature, however, Caldwell was not there. His absence was noted by admirers, including members of the museum committee at Caldwell's birthplace.

The steering committee of the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum in Moreland has joined with literature professors, members of Caldwell's family and other admirers in protesting Caldwell's omission from "The Literature of the American South: A Norton Anthology."

A letter was signed by members of the committee and sent to Julia A. Reidhead, vice president and editor at W. W. Norton.

In the letter, the committee protested "this grievous omission." Caldwell is best known for such novels as "Tobacco Road," "God's Little Acre" and "Journeyman."

Virginia Caldwell Hibbs, the novelist's widow, and Dr. Jay Caldwell, his son, have both registered complaints with Norton. Hibbs said that she was told Caldwell was omitted because the preferred short story, "Kneel to the Rising Sun," was too long.

She noted that Caldwell wrote 150 short stories, many of them shorter than "Kneel to the Rising Sun."

Jay Caldwell said that he has communicated with officials at Norton. The Raven Society, a book/film club to which he belongs, is also complaining.

"We felt that this issue could not go unaddressed," said Winston Skinner, chairman of the Caldwell Museum committee. "The short stories represent some of Mr. Caldwell's best work, and to publish an anthology of Southern literature without including him is unthinkable."

Norton officials in a letter to Hibbs said there has been a considerable outcry about the omission of Caldwell and that an example of Caldwell's work will likely be included in upcoming editions of "The Literature of the American South."

Article in The Times-Herald, May 1, 1996

Several items which were used by novelist Erskine Caldwell have been added to the collection of the museum in his birthplace in Moreland.
Mrs. Virginia Caldwell Hibbs, the novelist's widow, recently sent a package which included a wristwatch, a worn pocket dictionary and a passport holder. Tucked into a pocket of the passport holder were passport photographs of Erskine and Virginia Caldwell.
"We are delighted that Mrs. Hibbs has shared these new belongings of Mr. Caldwell. They have already been placed on display," said W. Winston Skinner, chairman of the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum committee.
The museum is located on the Moreland Town Square. When Caldwell was born in the house in 1903, it was located about three miles away on Haynie Road.
The black Webster's Pocket Dictionary was used often by the writer of such novels as Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre. The passport holder also got much use during the latter years of Caldwell's career when he spent about half of each year traveling.
Caldwell traveled extensively, going to such farflung destinations as France, Poland, Russia and Japan.
The museum has also received two record albums which include the theme from the 1958 film version of "God's Little Acre." The two United Artists "Great Motion Picture Themes" albums were given to the museum by Sallie and Jane Skinner of Newnan.
Although the albums have the same selections on them, the album covers differ slightly. In addition to "God's Little Acre," other movie themes featured on the albums include "Exodus," "Never On Sunday," "The Apartment," "The Magnificent Seven," "The Alamo," "The Big Country," "I Want to Live," "The Vikings," "The Unforgiven," "Some Like It Hot," "Solomon and Sheba," "The Horse Soldiers," "The Wonderful Country" and "Smile."
Susan Hayward won the Academy Award for best actress as convicted murderer Barbara Graham in "I Want to Live." At that time, Hayward was living in Carroll County.
"God's Little Acre" starred Robert Ryan, Jack Lord, Michael Landon and Buddy Hackett. Tina Louise made her film debut as Griselda.
"We appreciate these gifts which have enriched our collection," the museum chairman said. The Caldwell museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5 p.m.
Admission is $2 adults and $1 children.

Article in The Times-Herald, February 28, 1996

Coweta County native Erskine Caldwell is mentioned in a new biography of John Steinbeck.
Caldwell and Steinbeck were contemporaries, and both often wrote about the poor. Steinbeck is remembered for such works as The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl and Tortilla Flat.
Caldwell's best known novels include God's Little Acre, Tobacco Road and Journeyman. Caldwell was born near Moreland, and his birthplace has been moved to Moreland's town square and opened as a museum.
Jay Parini wrote John Steinbeck: A Biography, which was published last year. In the book, Parini wrote about the visit by Steinbeck and his third wife, Elaine, to Russia in 1963.
During their trip the Steinbecks met such Russian literary heroes as poet Yevgeny Yevtshenko. "Erskine Caldwell and his wife, Virginia, happened to be in Moscow, staying on the other side of Moscow at the National Hotel on Red Square, and the Steinbecks joined them one night for dinner in their suite," Parini wrote.
Parini also wrote about Jack Kirkland's stage adaptation of Tortilla Flat. Kirkland's adaptation of Tobacco Road was a smash hit, running for years on Broadway.
The Tortilla Flat work was not of the same caliber and the play "fell to earth with a thud," Parini wrote.
Elaine Steinbeck and Virginia Caldwell Hibbs have stayed in touch since the deaths of Steinbeck and Caldwell. Hibbs lives in Oregon and has visited Moreland twice in recent years.

Need more information about the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum? E-mail W. Winston Skinner - winston@newnan.com

Comments or questions about this website (technical questions about this site, only- all other comments or questions to Mr. Skinner, please)... E-mail Steve Hill at webmaster@newnan.com.

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Caldwell son to attend 100th birthday celebration Dec. 14

Writers Hall of Fame director talks about Caldwell, Grizzard

Caldwell inducted into Hall of Fame

"Tobacco Road" on list of top 100 novels

Erskine Caldwell fans ticked

Article in The Times-Herald, May 1, 1996

Article in The Times-Herald, February 28, 1996