Quick Bio
Born ~ August 8, 1896 in Washington, D.C.
Parents ~ Ida May (née Traphagen) and Arthur Frank Kinnan
Married ~ Charles Rawlings (m. 1919; div. 1933); Norton Baskin (m. 1941)
Died ~ December 14, 1953 (aged 57)
Buried ~ Antioch Cemetery, Island Grove, Florida
Both books were adapted into major films.
Before settling into her remote Florida orange grove in 1928, Ms. Rawlings and her then-husband both worked for the Rochester (New York) Journal-American. Ms. Rawlings wrote a syndicated column called “Songs of the Housewife.” Before that both Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings wrote for the Courier Journal while living in Louisville, Kentucky.
During her years at Cross Creek, Ms. Rawlings “felt a profound and transforming connection to the region and the land.…[She] filled several notebooks with descriptions of the animals, plants, Southern dialect, and recipes, and she used these descriptions in her writings” (MKR).
Fiction ~ The Yearling
Set in the Big Scrub (the Cross Creek backwoods), the novel is about a young boy, Jody Baxter, who adopts a pet deer in the post-Civil War years.
The setting “becomes a character in itself…[as Ms.] Rawlings exposes how nature can be both a comforting escape and a cruel force of destruction and death” (Theme).
The Yearling, published in March 1938, sold more than 250,000 copies in 1938, making it the best-selling novel in the U.S. The following year, it was in seventh place.
A film adaptation starring Mary Steenburgen as Ms. Rawlings released in 1983. Though not a box office success, the movie garnered numerous awards including four Academy Award nominations for the following:
Ms. Rawlings’ Legacy
Johnnie Alexander is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of more than thirty works of fiction in multiple genres. She is both traditionally and indie-published, serves as board secretary for the Mosaic Collection, LLC (an indie-author group) and faculty chair for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference; co-hosts Writers Chat, a weekly online show; and contributes to the HHHistory.com blog. With a heart for making memories, Johnnie is a fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips. Connect with her at JohnnieAlexander.com.
Before settling into her remote Florida orange grove in 1928, Ms. Rawlings and her then-husband both worked for the Rochester (New York) Journal-American. Ms. Rawlings wrote a syndicated column called “Songs of the Housewife.” Before that both Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings wrote for the Courier Journal while living in Louisville, Kentucky.
During her years at Cross Creek, Ms. Rawlings “felt a profound and transforming connection to the region and the land.…[She] filled several notebooks with descriptions of the animals, plants, Southern dialect, and recipes, and she used these descriptions in her writings” (MKR).
Fiction ~ The Yearling
The setting “becomes a character in itself…[as Ms.] Rawlings exposes how nature can be both a comforting escape and a cruel force of destruction and death” (Theme).
The Yearling, published in March 1938, sold more than 250,000 copies in 1938, making it the best-selling novel in the U.S. The following year, it was in seventh place.
More Accolades:
Claude Jarman, Jr. won the Academy Juvenile Award for “outstanding child actor of 1946” and received a miniature statuette for his portrayal of Jody Baxter.
Other Academy Award nominations include:
Non-fiction ~ Cross Creek
The former, a bestseller, sold more than 500,000 copies.
It was also a Book of the Month Club selection and was sent to World War II servicemen.
- Selected for the Book of the Month Club (April 1938);
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1939);
- Translated into about thirty other languages.
Other Academy Award nominations include:
- Sidney Franklin (MGM) for Best Motion Picture;
- Clarence Brown for Best Directing;
- Gregory Peck for Best Actor (playing Jody’s father);
- Jane Wyman for Best Actress (playing Jody’s mother);
- Harold F. Kress for Best Film Editing
Both Cross Creek and a companion book called Cross Creek Cookery were published in 1942.
The former, a bestseller, sold more than 500,000 copies.
It was also a Book of the Month Club selection and was sent to World War II servicemen.
A film adaptation starring Mary Steenburgen as Ms. Rawlings released in 1983. Though not a box office success, the movie garnered numerous awards including four Academy Award nominations for the following:
- Rip Torn for Best Supporting Actor;
- Alfre Woodard for Best Supporting Actress;
- Joe I. Tompkins for Best Costume Design;
- Leonard Rosenman for Best Original Score.
Alfre Woodard won Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture in the NAACP Image Awards.
The two Young Artist Awards nominations included Best Family Feature Motion Picture and Dana Hill for Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
The National Board of Review Awards awarded the movie 9th place in their Top Ten Films list.
Ms. Rawlings’ Legacy
- At age 15 ~ won a prize for her short story, “The Reincarnation of Miss Hetty”;
- 1918 ~ graduated with a degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison;
- 1956 ~ won a Newbery Honor for The Secret River, a children’s fantasy novel, published after her death;
- 1986 ~ inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame;
- 1989 ~ won the Florida Folk Heritage Award;
- 2008 ~ honored with a USPS stamp;
- 2009 ~ named a Great Floridian, a program which honors those who make major contributions to the state.
"Through her writing she endeared herself
to the people of the world."Inscription on Ms. Rawlings' Monument
You can visit Ms. Rawlings’ “cracker-style home and farm, where she wrote her Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Yearling and other wonderful works of fiction” which “has been restored and is preserved as it was when she lived here” (State Park).
See the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park website for more info on visiting the historic farm and trails.Your Turn
Though I'm not a Florida native, I've lived most of my adult life in the Sunshine State. And I love it here!
I also love authors who write about Florida's history.
What authors do you love who write about your favorite region of the world?
Johnnie Alexander is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of more than thirty works of fiction in multiple genres. She is both traditionally and indie-published, serves as board secretary for the Mosaic Collection, LLC (an indie-author group) and faculty chair for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference; co-hosts Writers Chat, a weekly online show; and contributes to the HHHistory.com blog. With a heart for making memories, Johnnie is a fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips. Connect with her at JohnnieAlexander.com.
Photos
Claude Jarman, Jr. ~ Publicity photo of Claude Jarman Jr taken for film Intruder in the Dust (1949). Public domain.
Cross Creek ~ By Moni3 - Own work (Original text: Self-made), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67543685
Cross Creek movie poster ~ Fair use.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings ~ Public domain.
Sources
Thank you for posting today. I enjoy reading books from authors who know the area they are writing about well, or who do the research to get the facts right. Offhand, I can think of Susan Page Davis, who sets her novels in Maine often.
ReplyDeleteHi, Connie! You may know that this is the third time I've lived in Florida ~ and it's where I've lived most of my adult life. I've always loved this state. All the green, the sunny days, the exotic birds, and the amazing history. I don't even mind that we have gators living in the pond behind our house! I'm excited about sharing a few Florida's artists, authors, and architects this year!
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