The Grapes of Wrath Is About My People
I have ancestors—my great grandmother, Alabama Gray (she preferred to be called Bonnie), in fact—who traveled from Oklahoma to California …
Category Archives: Pulitzer Winners
Birth and Land in The Good Earth
“And Wang Lung, hearing this, felt his mouth suddenly dry and parched and his voice came from him in a …
An American Masterpiece: Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose
Wallace Stegner’s (1909-1993) masterpiece Angle of Repose (1971; Pulitzer 1972) explores the marriage relationships of Susan and Oliver Ward and …
The Dissatisfying Resolution of Gone with the Wind
“All great literature (and all great storytelling) has two elements: conflict and resolution.” Dr. B already had my attention, but …
A Mild Crusade to Resurrect Dorothy Whipple and a Feminist Reading List
I wrote my Master’s thesis on British author Dorothy Whipple’s novel The Priory (1939). I enjoy Whipple’s work. She has …
When I Grow Up I Want to Be Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson is so smart that I can barely understand her books. Her work forces me to slow down, savor …
Death Changes Mrs. Dalloway and Us
The first time my sister Haley received an invitation for a sleepover, it was to her best friend Martha’s house. …
Larry McMurtry’s Rollicking American West
I picked Lonesome Dove, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize, for a book club meeting once. However, as a group …
