Thornton Wilder (122 page)

60.
TNW to Helen and Jacob Bleibtreu, November 3, 1973,
SL
, 689–90.

61.
TNW to Robert J. Donovan, “Thornton Wilder on Life Today: ‘It's an Age of Transition—and It's Exciting,' ”
Los Angeles Times,
October 15, 1973, reprinted in Bryer,
Conversations with Thornton Wilder,
107.

62.
TNW to Ellen Gates Starr, February 23, 1939, Private Collection.

63.
TNW to Robert J. Donovan, “Thornton Wilder on Life Today: ‘It's an Age of Transition—and It's Exciting.' ”

64.
TNW to ANW, [June 18, 1974?], TNW Collection, YCAL, uncataloged letters.

65.
Janet Wilder Dakin to Winthrop “Toby” Dakin, [January 1979?], Private Collection.

66.
TNW To Garson Kanin, March 7, 1967, TNW Collection, YCAL. See also Edmund W. Pavenstedt, White and Case, to TNW, September 2, 1966, and to John W. Barnett, Wiggin & Dana, October 20, 1966, TNW Collection, YCAL.

67.
“
The Eighth Day
Royalty Earnings,” [1975?], Private Collection.

68.
“Charlotte Elizabeth Wilder,” Admissions Report, November 12, 1969, Private Collection.

69.
TNW to Ruth Gordon, January [no day], 1969, Private Collection.

70.
TNW to Isabel Wilder, January 29, 1970, TNW Collection, YCAL.

71.
Charlotte Wilder to TNW, June 30, 1971, TNW Collection, YCAL.

72.
Sol Lesser to TNW, April 3, 1975, TNW Collection, YCAL.

73.
TNW to Sol Lesser, April 17, 1975, holograph drafts and a typescript copy, TNW Collection, YCAL.

74.
TNW to ANW, July 28, 1975, TNW Collection, YCAL, uncataloged letters. Wilder would most likely have appreciated the work that would be done in the future by scholars cited in this biography, as well as others, including Martin Blank, ed.,
Critical Essays on Thornton Wilder
(New York: G. K. Hall & Company, 1996); Lincoln Konkle,
Thornton Wilder and the Puritan Narrative Tradition
(Columbia, MO: The University of Missouri Press, 2006); Paul Lifton,
The Theatre of Thornton Wilder: Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies
(Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995); and Christopher J. Wheatley,
Thornton Wilder & Amos Wilder: Writing Religion in Twentieth-Century America
(Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011).

75.
TNW to ANW, July 28, 1975, TNW Collection, YCAL, uncataloged letters.

76.
TNW to Amos Tappan Wilder, August 22, 1975, Private Collection.

77.
TNW to Malcolm Cowley, November 18, 1975,
SL
, 701–2.

78.
TNW to Eileen and Roland Le Grand, December 3, 1975,
SL
, 704–5.

79.
TNW to Carol Brandt, November 18, 1975,
SL
, 703.

80.
Ruth Gordon, Remarks at TNW's Memorial Service, January 18, 1976, TNW Collection, YCAL.

81.
TNW to Eileen and Roland Le Grand, December 3, 1975,
SL
, 704–5.

 

EPILOGUE

1.
ANW, Interment Service for TNW, December 9, 1975, TNW Collection, YCAL.

2.
Tappan Wilder, Memorial Service for TNW, January 8, 1976, TNW Collection, YCAL.

3.
TNW,
The Woman of Andros
, 176.

4.
TNW, “Report of the Rapporteur General,” International Conference of Artists, Venice, September 28, 1952, UNESCO document, UNESCO/ART/DIV/7.

5.
TNW to Isabel Wilder, August 25, 1937, TNW Collection, YCAL.

6.
TNW, unpublished lecture on biography, n.d., TNW Collection, YCAL.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The art of biography is more difficult than is generally supposed.

—THORNTON WILDER,

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

 

 

Several years ago, after I spoke to some elementary school children about my adventures as a writer, a little girl said, “I've just decided I'm going to be a writer when I grow up. It sounds like so much more fun than working!” Researching and writing biography can be fun, but it is most often difficult, complicated, painstaking work. Providentially, I love doing it, and fortunately, my work has been facilitated and encouraged by countless individuals who have performed innumerable acts of kindness and assistance.

I could not have finished this book without miracles. Some of them were worked by the following: First Jennifer, my wise and beautiful daughter, a gifted writer, and a person of extraordinary grace, strength, and wit. She gives me boundless love, inspiration, encouragement, and joy. Without her I could not have surmounted the challenges in my own life while I was writing this book about Wilder's life.

Next, Tappan Wilder, a remarkable literary executor. He has given me unflagging encouragement and support, all the while respecting and protecting my total independence. He has generously shared papers and documents, questions and ideas, and enlightening memories and conversations, holding nothing back. He always stands by to help but never stands in the way. His mantra has been “This is
your
book. Tell the story as
you
see it.” Like his uncle Thornton, he has a consummate gift for friendship.

Next I owe an enduring debt to Dr. William Rice III, my friend and physician, whose perceptive, farseeing care has prolonged and enhanced my life. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to him, or to the following people who have helped me keep on writing: Dr. Samuel Lentz; Dr. Daniel W. Dubovsky; my cousin-in-law Dr. John Moore; Dr. Austin Temple; Dr. Dale Browne; Linda Mock, who helps me hear; and Rick Robinson, who helps me see.

I am grateful to the Wilder scholars with whom I have worked on various projects: again, the foremost Wilder scholar and archivist, Tappan Wilder; Dr. Jackson R. Bryer; J. D. McClatchy; and especially, Dr. Robin Gibbs Wilder, who has generously and meticulously shared her knowledge of Wilder and his family and of American history and culture. Invaluable contributions to the biography have been made by Catharine “Dixie” Wilder Guiles, and the late Catharine Kerlin Wilder, whose memories, letters, and support I deeply appreciate.

I am grateful to the following for their contributions to the book in the form of interviews, or letters and documents, or consultation, or questions answered, or research assistance, or photographs, or hospitality, or a combination of those: Oscar Ardila, Arthur “Pete” Ballard, Sally Begley, Dr. Scott Bennett, Susan Bianconi, the late Dr. John Broderick, Harlan Blynn, Francesca Calderone-Steichen, Rowe Carenen, Carol Channing, Vicki Crouser, Dr. Louie Eargle, Mia Farrow, David Finkle, Paul Green, Jr., Paul Gregory, the late Philip Guiles, Rosemary Harris, Lisa Hartjens, William Henderson, Archie Hobson, Dr. John Hutton, Louis Kapeleris, Dr. Lincoln Konkle, Matt Lutz, the late Dr. Morris Martin, Christopher Morss, Betsy Green Moyers, Tom Munroe, Dr. Tommaso Murani, Dr. Edyta Oczkowicz, the late Dr. Elizabeth Phillips, Dr. Tim Redman, Ray Roberts, Dr. Eva Rodtwit, the late Dr. James Semans, Cindy Shirley, Nancy Nutter da Silva, Justin Spring, Ariana Rodina Calderone Stahmer, Robert Stewart, Rosey Strub, Harold Tedford, Tazewell Thompson, Anna Livia Plurabelle (“Liffey”) Thorpe, Jay Tunney, the late Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Scott Warhoven, Jenney Wilder, Michael Williams, Nita Kendrick Williamson, Dr. Edwin Wilson, Emily Herring Wilson, Ken Witty, and Don Wolfe.

I have spent productive hours over many years engrossed in the Thornton Wilder papers at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University, and before Wilder, in the papers of Edward and Clara Smith Steichen in the Beinecke's Alfred Stieglitz Collection. The quality of the Beinecke collections is matched by the quality of the outstanding people who work there. I have been the grateful beneficiary of the professionalism and generosity of the Beinecke staff. I owe special appreciation to Stephen Jones. My thanks go to Dr. Patricia Willis, former curator of American Literature; Dr. Nancy Kuhl, current curator of American Literature; Dr. Louise Bernard, curator of American Literature: Prose and Drama; Anne Marie Menta, Timothy Young, Diane Ducharme, Eva Wrightson, Moira Fitzgerald, and all the people at the Beinecke who help by retrieving materials, copying papers and photographs, and protecting books and papers with courteous care. Gratitude goes out as well to Judith Ann Schiff, chief research archivist of Manuscripts and Archives; and Diane E. Kaplan, head of public Services, Manuscripts, and Archives, Yale University Library. I also thank Amy Boratko and Anna Chen for their excellent research assistance. I learned a great deal in conversation with the late Donald Gallup, curator of the Yale Collection of American Literature from 1947 until 1980, and editor of Wilder's journals and his selected nonfiction.

I appreciate the assistance of the following additional institutions and individuals: Renée Bennett, director of communications, The Masters School, as it is known today; Heather Cole, assistant curator of Modern Books & Manuscripts, Houghton Library, Harvard University; Margaret R. Dakin, Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College; Mollie Gathro, archives assistant, Mount Holyoke College; Ken Grossi, acting college archivist, Oberlin College Archives; David Kessler, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley; Nancy R. Miller, University of Pennsylvania Archives; Katherine Mollen, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration; Megan O'Shea, manuscripts specialist, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library; Mark Renovitch, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum; Peter Weis, archivist; Dr. Rose Simon and her colleagues in the Salem College Library; the Mount Hermon School; the Thacher School; The Library and Archives of Canada; and the National Library of Scotland.

I will always be thankful for the affirmation and support of a Fellowship in American Literature from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Thornton Wilder Fellowship at the Beinecke Library at Yale.

It has been a great pleasure to work with my venerable editor, Hugh Van Dusen. For more than two years he read the manuscript chapter by chapter as I finished each draft, and he sent me immediate feedback, comments, and questions that greatly helped to shape and refine the book at a crucial time. His consideration of the person as well as the writer helped to sustain me on this extended journey, and I am deeply grateful. I received vital help, guidance, and support from the remarkable Maya Ziv, who has my enduring thanks. When Maya moved on to another role at HarperCollins, Barry Harbaugh capably took over the reins as Hugh Van Dusen's assistant, and I appreciate his attentive help as we moved toward the finish line.

It is always exciting and gratifying when a manuscript is at last delivered to the publisher and embarks on the production process. Many skilled people work together to transform a manuscript into a book, and I have been fortunate to have as colleagues at HarperCollins Peter London of the Permissions Department; Eric Levy, the production manager; Emily Walters, the production editor; Susan Llewellyn, the copy editor; Richard Ljoenes, designer of the book's jacket; Fritz Metsch, the designer of the book's interior; Nancy Wolff, the indexer; and Kate Blum and Martin Wilson in publicity.

For taking care of countless matters over many years, daily thanks go to my friend and longtime agent, Barbara Hogenson, of The Barbara Hogenson Agency, and to her assistants Nicole Verity and Lori Styler. It was Barbara who first suggested Thornton Wilder as my next subject, and introduced me to Tappan Wilder, and she has been a wonderful guide, companion, and cheerleader from the beginning.

Always I appreciate my family and friends. I give thanks for them and to them: My sisters, Lynn Niven Duval Clark and Doris Niven Knapp, and my brother, William Olin “Bill” Niven; my aunt, Frances Niven Gamble; my nieces and nephews, especially Lisa, Bob, Nathaniel, Learyn, and Annalise von Sprecken; all the Niven cousins, especially Patsy McGee, Gay Diller, Glo Hope, Jan Moore, and Angela and Dominic Moresco; Joe Kraemer, Claire Christopher, Francesca Calderone-Steichen, Joel Stahmer, Ariana Stahmer, Jeffrey Couchman, Coddy Granum, Jenney Wilder, Blanton and Betty Belk, Carol Edwards, Sophia Cody, Sue Wall, Ed and Emily Wilson, Nick Bragg, the late Mary Louise Davis, Melanie and Michael Kraemer, Ceci and James Earl Jones, Majie Failey, Connie Backlund, Caywood Hendricks, Mary Ausley, Denise Franklin, Robert Hamilton, Bruce Monks, Carroll Leggett, Leslie Pocchiari, David Solomon, Guy Blynn, William “Chan” Chandler, Judy Kessler, Angelo Surmelis, Ed Baran, Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, Olasope Oyelaran, and Julianne Still Thrift. I extend thanks to my Salem College creative writing students for their company over the years. My life and my work have been enriched for more than a decade by the creativity and friendship of the talented women in my writers' group—Joy Beshears, Ginger Hendricks, and Sheryl Monks.

A biographer has to be something of a gypsy, and my research travels have been enhanced on occasion by wonderful traveling companions: Jennifer and I have consolidated our research trips as often as possible, and have shared unforgettable adventures in Canada, Wales, Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, and many locations in the United States; Francesca Calderone-Steichen and I have worked side by side in Switzerland, New Jersey, and New Haven; Edyta Oczkowicz and I have shared discoveries at the Beinecke Library; I explored Wilder's Zurich with Jennifer, Francesca, and her daughter, Ariana; and with the encouragement and help of my sister Lynn, I retraced Wilder's steps through ancient Rome. We also spent an inspiring afternoon in the Keats house near the Spanish Steps, especially in the room where Keats died. I came away with a much deeper understanding of what Rome meant to Wilder, and, therefore, of his first novel,
The Cabala.

I have often been asked if I am related to Thornton Niven Wilder. As I embarked on the journey of this book, I had never looked into the matter. I was drawn to Wilder not because we share a name but because of his extraordinary work. It was only after I moved deeper into the exploration of his life that I began to study his ancestry and, simultaneously, my own. More than a decade ago, on a Wilder research trip to Scotland, I investigated my personal Niven heritage in the genealogical archives in Edinburgh, taking along a copy of the family history prepared by my aunts and cousins over the years. I did not then have names or dates for the Nivens from whom Wilder was descended. Later, Tappan Wilder found a copy of the Niven genealogy among the papers of his father, Amos Niven Wilder. With that information and my own expanding research, I could confirm that Thornton Wilder's Niven family and my Niven family came from the same Scottish village: Bowmore on Islay in the Inner Hebrides. Curious now, and believing that there might actually be some distant family connection, I continued the search.

Finally, on January 5, 2012, the vital piece of the puzzle came: His name was Malcolm MacNiven. He was born about 1715 on Islay. He fathered four sons: Daniel, Duncan, Archibald, and Neil. Malcolm's son Daniel emigrated to the United States in 1765, settling in New York State. Duncan's son Daniel—Malcolm's grandson—emigrated in 1791 and also settled in New York; he dropped the “Mac” from his surname. Archibald's son Duncan—Malcolm's grandson—emigrated in 1819, settling in North Carolina. Isabella Thornton Niven Wilder and her children are descendants of Malcolm's son Duncan. My Niven family and I are descendants of Malcolm's son Archibald, brother of Duncan. To our surprise, Tappan Wilder, Catharine “Dixie” Wilder Guiles, and I now know that we share this grandfather many generations back. In a salute to Malcolm MacNiven of Islay, I am tempted to believe that perhaps it was destiny that led me to write this book—or as Malcolm might have called it in Scottish Gaelic,
Cinneamhainn
.

In the years since I began exploring Thornton Wilder's life and work, many people dear to me have died. As I think of them I remember the words Wilder gave to the poet Catullus in
The Ides of March
: “Love
is
its own eternity. Love is in every moment of its being: all time. It is the only glimpse we are permitted of what eternity is.” I have worked in loving memory of Olin and Eleanor Marsh Hearon Niven, my parents, and of family members Dr. Harry Y. Gamble, Sr., Jack Fain McJunkin, Jr., Richard Knapp, Philip Clark, Charles Kelly, Charles McGee, and William McLaughlin. Finally, I pay special memorial tribute to Amos Todd Wilder.