Sunday, December 29, 2013

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and one of the most prominent American writers of the early 20th century. She is best known for her novels “O Pioneers!” and “My Antonia.” Today's Out Spotlight is Willa Cather.

Born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia, on December 7, 1873 Willa Cather was the oldest of seven children. At the age of 10, she and her extended family moved to Red Cloud, Nebraska. During her adolescence, Cather was known for her masculine style of dress and referred to herself as “Willie.” She grew up listening to the stories of immigrants and was fascinated by the people and the nature of prairie life. This experience would inspire much of her novel, “My Antonia,” published in 1918.

Following high school, she attended the University of Nebraska with aspirations of becoming a doctor. After one of her essays was published in the Lincoln Journal, Cather decided to pursue writing. Having earned her degree,  her relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She worked for newspapers and magazines, and began publishing her poetry and short stories.

Her work caught the attention of famed editor S. S. McClure, who hired her for McClure’s magazine. She moved to New York and became acquainted with many prominent writers. By 1908, Cather was one of the most influential editors in the country. Her first of 12 novels, “Alexander’s Bridge,” was published in 1912. By the 1920s, Cather was considered one of the leading American novelists.

In 1922, Cather received a Pulitzer Prize for her novel “One of Ours.” She received honorary degrees from the University of Michigan, Columbia, and Yale, and became the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Princeton.

From 1908 until her death April 24, 1947, she lived with Edith Lewis, a prominent New York editor. In her later years, Cather continued writing short stories, novels and nonfiction essays. She has been hailed as one of the great writers, especially for her depictions of rural American life.

“The end is nothing, the road is all.”

13 comments:

  1. I love it. Let 'em react. All they're doing by reacting so quickly like that is proving to the lurkers that they are watching. They're watching, they're getting hacked at what we're talking about and blowing up, and then they're acting out.

    What a hoot!

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  2. Fascinating spotlight as usual. She lived with her partner from 08 to 47. That's 39 years. Quite a good run.

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  3. I almost feel like a pirate today.

    It's possible a little treasure was found.

    What was found? And could this little gold nugget have something to do with why the paid visitor has been itching & twitching all day?


    ɐuuɐıɹq ‏@underdaBRIdge18 19h

    I just met Jake Gyllenhaal

    11:39 PM - 29 Dec 13 · Details

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  4. And where is @underdaBRIdge18?

    New York City? no
    Los Angeles? no
    Portage MI? no
    Austin TX? no
    Lansing MI? no
    London? no
    Wrightsville Beach NC? no
    Big Sur? no
    Alabama? no

    The tweeter is in the Dominican Republic where she is attending a David Guetta concert tonight.

    And where is that concert being held?

    At the Pucatana Resort & Club.

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  5. And, why is that location significant when it comes to Jake and Austin? Let's take a brief trip down memory lane, shall we?


    Tortuga Bay and the Dominican Republic



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  6. The gal who tweeted the Jake sighting, did so at 3:39 AM, Dominican Republic time. Which means Jake was probably just checking into the hotel. Now we know why our troll's head was exploding. After all, a bunch of tweets had been presented to place Austin in Texas with a wo-man. Austin even being photographed specifically in Port Aransas. A nice place to be if you wanted to hop on a plane and fly into the Dominican Republic, don't you think?

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  7. I wonder what their resolution is?December 30, 2013 at 10:49 PM

    Looks like Jake and Austin are bringing in the New Year in style. Good for them.

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  8. I'm sure Tex Mex can't compare to a couple of glasses of Bubbly with his very own Bubble Boy. Right Austin?

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  9. I had never seen that post about the engagement ring before. That is veeerrry interesting. So the "engagement ring" appeared around Austin's 25th birthday?

    And, who gets engaged to themself? What a stupid explanation from Jake. He was obviously hiding something. Like a hot boyfriend.

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  10. Well, on that note....

    ----> Sweet dreams, everyone

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  11. Swoon...how romantic! Engagement rings that match their eye color. My ovaries are quivering

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  12. Great to see you tonight, confetti! How fun. Isn't that story something?

    Well, as much fun as it is to toss something out on to the table, we'll have to rein it in, I think, and ask the administrator to throw the blog on moderation.

    Because the paid troll gives it away how much you're nailing something by his reaction. And we've likely hit this one right on the pinpoint head.

    Too bad.

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  13. Since PR loves using twitter accounts to set up their contractual scenarios, I can just see A. Miller tweeting out how she's off to the Dominican Republic for another swimsuit shoot to bring in the new year. Or, maybe she'll soon upload an Instagram pic of her new Larimar necklace. #ThisScriptWritesItself

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