 |
AlcottWeb: Reference Shelf: News: Tulsa World |
| AlcottWeb: Home | Author Was Ahead of Her Time Alcott Began Writing to Help Support Family Barbara Hoberock 06/18/91 Tulsa World FINAL HOME EDITION Page C1 Copyright 1991 the Tulsa World. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. American 19th-century author Louisa May Alcott came to life under a tent Monday at Veterans Park. University of Nevada literature professor Anne Bail Howard, acting as Alcott, described the author's life and books, which include "Little Women," "Hospital Sketches," and "Little Men." Howard was one of several entertainers at the American Renaissance Chautauqua, which began Thursday and ends Tuesday. Alcott was a woman ahead of her time, choosing not to marry when most did, Howard said before her presentation. "She chose the life of a spinster and thought it was an intelligent decision," Howard said. "In those days, they didn't have divorce, but they had unhappy marriages." She believed in the sanctity of the home and was matronly for many lost souls, Howard said. "Liberty is a better husband than love for many of us," Howard said, acting as Alcott. Alcott decided to be a writer when she was 13. She learned to read early and constantly wrote in her journal. Alcott began writing professionally to support her father, an unprofitable philosopher, her mother and her sisters. She wrote sensational adult books under several pen names, Howard said. She didn't want her family to know what she was doing. The books were about murder, violence, poisoning and passion. They had heroines who didn't fit the 19th-century standards because they were sly, vengeful and deceiving. "Hospital Letters," a book based on her experiences as a nurse at Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., during the Civil War, brought her a taste of fame. She became famous after "Little Women," was published. The book became one of the most popular books for girls ever written. Local sponsors of the traveling Chautauqua hope to bring characters like Alcott to Tulsa next year, with a local presentation. The America Renaissance Chautauqua is a production of The Great Plains Chautauqua Society, sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa and partially funded by the Oklahoma Foundation for the Humanities. "We are doing our own Chautauqua with local scholars in June (1992)," said Ninette D'Alessandro, Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa events coordinator. It will be for five days with the theme set in the Progressive Era, between 1900 and 1920, she said. Organizers hope to present William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow and Teddy Roosevelt, to name a few. Organizers didn't know how the Chautauqua would be received in Tulsa, but attendance has been great, D'Alessandro said. Between 500 and 600 people have attended the nightly presentations, while between 65 and 100 people attended the workshops. Chautauquas were popular in the late 1800s, but made obsolete by radio in the 1930s, D'Alessandro said. The Great Plains Chautauqua Society Inc., started in 1976 in Bismarck, N.D. It is a humanities scholar-in-residence program. The program, which opened this year in Altus, moves to Hutchinson, Kan., Friday. Breakfast with Howard as Alcott is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at The Pancake Place, 11th Street and Utica Avenue. The public is invited. Howard will conduct a storytelling workshop for children at 2 p.m. at Harwelden, 2210 S. Main St. Carrol Peterson as Walt Whitman will conduct a poetry writing workshop for children at 2 p.m. at Harwelden. The Tulsa Brass Band will perform at 7 p.m. at the Chautauqua tent in Veterans Park. Laurie James and Douglas Watson will give presentations as Margaret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne at 8 p.m. |
| This site is unaffiliated with Orchard House or any other official LMA organization. It's just a fan site. The official site is http://www.louisamayalcott.org . |
|