By Emma Ward | On June 25, 2017 | Updated March 17, 2023 | Comments (0)
Carson McCullers (1917 – 1967; born Lula Carson Smith) is known for her incisive novels, especially her first,The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Published in 1940 when she was only 23, McCullers instantly became the toast of the literary scene.
McCiullers wrote in other genres as well, including plays, short stories, children’s poetry, and other works. Most of her work is set in the American South and involves people struggling with loneliness and isolation.
Many critics place her among the best southern writers, along with William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Tennessee Williams. Read More→
By Emma Ward | On June 23, 2017 | Updated October 18, 2022 | Comments (0)
Madeleine L’Engle (1918 – 2007) was an author of fantasy fiction for children and young adults, best known for A Wrinkle in Time and the series of books that followed. She had trouble finding a publisher for what became her most famous book; editors were concerned that it was “too dark for children.”
Her career began after graduating college when she wrote plays that were published followed by her books and honorary degrees.
L’Engle wrote much about her life as a writer, and as a working mother. She mused on the challenges of the writing life and juggling her career with the raising of her children. Here is a selection of quotes by Madeleine L’Engle that speak to her thoughtfulness and honesty. Read More→
By Emma Ward | On June 23, 2017 | Updated February 12, 2026 | Comments (0)
Patricia Highsmith wrote novels and short stories that had elements of crime in the genre of psychological thrillers, many starring sociopaths like Ripley.
Early in her career, she briefly departed from what would become this favored genre to produce a novel about two women falling in love. The Price of Salt (1952) would become the basis of the film adaptation, Carol, several decades later (2015), starring Cate Blanchett in the title role, with Rooney Mara as her younger love interest.
The Price of Salt was also unique in that it was a novel about same-sex love that made it past the rule laid down by the era’s censors: No happy endings were allowed.
Until her first novel, Strangers on a Train was published in 1950, Highsmith worked as a freelance scriptwriter. The following year it was made into the famous Hitchcock film of the same name.
Highsmith had a dim view of humanity and was often described as a misanthrope, but the following romantic quotes from The Price of Salt reveal that Highsmith had a softer side. Read More→
By Emma Ward | On June 21, 2017 | Updated December 13, 2018 | Comments (0)
By Emma Ward | On June 20, 2017 | Updated October 18, 2022 | Comments (0)
Fannie Hurst was an author of Jewish heritage who grew up in Missouri and moved to NYC after graduating from Washington University. Her writing contained political and personal matters that gave her a conscious public voice.
Hurst’s most popular work, Imitation of Life, was adapted into film twice, and she earned her the position of highest paid female author of the 1920s and 1930s.
Though her work has been largely forgotten, her thoughts, captured in these conscious quotes on writing and striving still feel fresh and relevant. Read More→
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