Erskine Preston Caldwell (December 17, 1903 – April 11, 1987) was an American novelist and short story writer. His writings about poverty,

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and social problems in his native

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, in novels such as '' Tobacco Road'' (1932) and ''

God's Little Acre ''God's Little Acre'' is a 1933 novel by Erskine Caldwell about a dysfunctional farming family in Georgia obsessed with sex and wealth. The novel's sexual themes were so controversial that the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice asked a ...

'' (1933) won him critical acclaim.

Early years

Caldwell was born on December 17, 1903, in the small town of White Oak,

Coweta County, Georgia Coweta County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of Metro Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 146,158. The county seat is Newnan. Coweta County is included in the Atlanta- ...

. He was the only child of

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...

minister Ira Sylvester Caldwell and his wife Caroline Preston (née Bell) Caldwell, a schoolteacher. Rev. Caldwell's ministry required moving the family often, to places including Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. When he was 15 years old, his family settled in

Wrens, Georgia Wrens is a city in Jefferson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,187 at the 2010 census. It is located on U.S. Route 1, thirty miles south of Augusta. History Wrens was laid out in 1884 when the railroad was extended to that poi ...

. His mother Caroline was from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Her ancestry included English nobility which held large land grants in eastern

. Both her English ancestors and Scots-Irish ancestors fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Ira Caldwell's ancestors were Scots-Irish and had also been in America since before the revolution and had fought in it. Caldwell's mother, a former teacher, tutored her son at home. Caldwell was 14 when he first attended a school. Caldwell attended but did not graduate from

Erskine College Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Its sp ...

, a Presbyterian school in nearby South Carolina.

Career

dropped out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...

of Erskine College to sign aboard a boat supplying guns to Central America. Caldwell entered the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

with a scholarship from the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

, but was enrolled for only a year. Caldwell then worked, being a football player, being a bodyguard and selling "bad" real estate. After two more enrollments at college, Caldwell went to work for the

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

, leaving in 1925, after a year, then moving to Maine, staying for five years, producing a story that won a Yale Review award for fiction, and two novels of the Georgia poor. His first published works were ''The Bastard'' (1929) and ''Poor Fool'' (1930) but the works for which he is most famous are his novels '' Tobacco Road'' (1932) and ''

'' (1933). His first book, ''The Bastard'', was banned and copies of it were seized by authorities. With the publication of ''God's Little Acre'', the

New York Society for the Suppression of Vice The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV or SSV) was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and di ...

instigated legal action against him, for ''The Bastard''. Caldwell was arrested at a book-signing there but was exonerated in court. In 1941, Caldwell reported from the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, for Life magazine,

CBS radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

and the newspaper PM. He wrote movie scripts for about five years. Caldwell wrote articles from Mexico and Czechoslovakia for the North American Newspaper Alliance.

Personal life

Through the 1930s Caldwell and his first wife Helen managed a bookstore in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Following their divorce Caldwell married photographer

Margaret Bourke-White Margaret Bourke-White (; June 14, 1904 – August 27, 1971), an American photographer and documentary photographer, became arguably best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet industry under the Soviets' ...

, collaborating with her on three photo-documentaries: '' You Have Seen Their Faces'' (1937), ''

North of the Danube North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

'' (1939), and '' Say, Is This The USA'' (1941). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Caldwell obtained a visa from the

that allowed him to travel to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and work as a foreign correspondent, documenting the war effort there. After he returned from World War II, Caldwell took up residence in Connecticut, then in Arizona with third wife, June Johnson (J.C. Martin). In 1957, Caldwell married Virginia Moffett Fletcher Caldwell Hibbs, who had drawn illustrations for a recent book of his, moving to

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, later moving to

Paradise Valley, Arizona Paradise Valley is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb of Phoenix, the state's largest city. It is Arizona's wealthiest municipality. The town is known for its luxury golf courses, shopping, expensive real estate, and ...

, in 1977. During the last twenty years of his life, his routine was to travel the world for six months of each year, taking with him notebooks in which to jot down his ideas. Many of these notebooks were not published, but can be examined in a museum dedicated to him in the town square of Moreland, Georgia, where the home in which he was born was relocated and dedicated to his memory.

"I live outside San Francisco. That's not exactly the United States"

Caldwell, a heavy smoker, died from complications of emphysema and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on April 11, 1987, in

. He is buried in

Scenic Hills Memorial Park Scenic may refer to: * Scenic design * Scenic painting * Scenic overlook * Scenic railroad (disambiguation) * Scenic route * Scenic, South Dakota, United States * Scenic (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse Aviation *Airwave Scenic, an Austrian par ...

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 ...

. Although he never lived there, his stepson and fourth wife, Virginia Moffett Fletcher Caldwell Hibbs, did, and wished him to be buried near his family. Virginia died in December 2017 aged 98. Adam Hunter Caldwell's grandfather is Erskine Caldwell. He is a Fine Arts instructor at

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. ...

Politics

His political sympathies were with the working class, and he used his experiences with farmers and common workers to write stories portraying their lives and struggles. Later in life he presented public seminars on the typical conditions of tenant-sharecroppers in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. Disillusionment with the government led Caldwell to compose a short story published in 1933, "Sylvia". In this story a woman journalist is executed by a firing squad after being tried in a secret court on charges of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

Works

Caldwell wrote 25 novels, 150 short stories, twelve nonfiction collections, two autobiographies, and two books for young readers. He also edited the influential

American Folkways series The American Folkways is a 28-volume series of books, initiated and principally edited by Erskine Caldwell, and published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce from 1941 to 1955. Each book focused on a different region, or "folkway", of the United States, inc ...

, a 28-volume series of books about different regions of the United States. *''The Bastard'' (1929) *''Poor Fool'' (1930) *''American Earth'', short stories (1931) ** later released as ''A Swell Looking Girl'' *'' Tobacco Road'' (1932) **'' Tobacco Road (The Play)'' ***'' adaptation by

Jack Kirkland Jack Kirkland (July 25, 1902 – February 22, 1969) was an American playwright, producer, director and screenwriter. Kirkland's greatest success was the play '' Tobacco Road'', adapted from the Erskine Caldwell novel. His other plays included ...

, based on the novel **'' Tobacco Road (The Film)'' ***'' film directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

*** based on the novel and the play *''

We Are the Living ''We Are the Living'' is a 1933 collection of short stories by Erskine Caldwell, comprising some of his earlier works. Background Viking Press published the collection in September 1933. 16 of its 20 stories were previously published in various ...

'', short stories (1933) *''

'' (1933) *''Tenant Farmers'', essay (1935) *''Some American People'', essay (1935) *''Journeyman'' (1935) *'' Kneel to the Rising Sun'', short stories (1935) *''The Sacrilege of Alan Kent'' (1936) ** originally from ''American Earth'' *'' You Have Seen Their Faces'' **(with

, 1937) *''Southways'', short stories (1938) *''North of the Danube'' **(with

, 1939) *''Trouble in July'' (1940) *''The First Autumn'' (1940) *''Say Is This the USA'' **(with

, 1941) *''Moscow Under Fire'', foreign correspondence (1942) *''Russia at War'', foreign correspondence (1942) *''All-Out on the Road to Smolensk'', foreign correspondence (1942) *''All Night Long'' (1942) **subtitled ''A Novel of Guerrilla Warfare in Russia'' *''Georgia Boy'' (1943), linked stories *''Tragic Ground'' (1944) *''A House in the Uplands'' (1946) *''The Sure Hand of God'' (1947) *''This Very Earth'' (1948) *'' Place Called Estherville'' (1949) *''Episode in Palmetto'' (1950) *''The Humorous Side of Erskine Caldwell,'' **edited by

Robert Cantwell Robert Emmett Cantwell (January 31, 1908 – December 8, 1978), known as Robert Cantwell, was a novelist and critic. His first novel, ''Laugh and Lie Down'' (1931) is an early example, twenty years before Jack Kerouac, of the American classic ge ...

(1951) *''Call It Experience'', autobiography (1951) *''The Courting of Susie Brown'', short stories (1952) *''A Lamp for Nightfall'' (1952) *''The Complete Stories of Erskine Caldwell'' (1953) *''Love and Money'' (1954) *''Gretta'' (1955) *''Gulf Coast Stories'', short stories (1956) *''Certain Women'', short stories (1957) *''

Claudelle Inglish ''Claudelle Inglish'' is a 1961 American film directed by Gordon Douglas and based on the 1958 novel by Erskine Caldwell. It stars Diane McBain and Arthur Kennedy. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1962 for Best Costume Design ( Howard S ...

'' (1958) *''Molly Cottontail'', children's book (1958) *''When You Think of Me'', short stories (1959) *''Jenny by Nature'' (1961) *''Men and Women'', short stories (1961) *''Close to Home'' (1962) *''The Last Night of Summer'' (1963) *''Around About America'', travel writing (1964) *''In Search of Bisco'', travel writing (1965) *''The Deer at Our House'', children's book (1966) *''Writing in America'', essay (1967) *''In the Shadow of the Steeple'', **second autobiography (1967) *''Miss Mama Aimee'' (1967) *''Summertime Island'' (1968) *''Deep South'', travel writing (1968) *''The Weather Shelter'' (1969) *''The Earnshaw Neighborhood'' (1971) *''Annette'' (1973) *''Afternoons in Mid America'', essays (1976) *''With All My Might'', **third autobiography (1987) *''Erskine Caldwell: Selected Letters, 1929–1955'', **edited by Robert L. McDonald (1999)

Recognition

In December 1984, Caldwell was inducted into the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *Thomas, Phil
review of 'Stories of Life North & South'
''

The Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland Star-Telegram ...

'', July 10, 1983

External links

* *
Erskine Caldwell papers
Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Libraries.
The Papers of Erskine P. Caldwell
in the

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Library
Erskine Caldwell
-

Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

*Rieger, Christopher
Erskine Caldwell

The Literary Encyclopedia ''The Literary Encyclopedia'' is an online reference work first published in October 2000. It was founded as an innovative project designed to bring the benefits of information technology to what at the time was still a largely conservative li ...

Erskine Caldwell
—

New Georgia Encyclopedia The ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' (NGE) is a web-based encyclopedia containing over 2,000 articles about the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is a program of Georgia Humanities (GH), in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, t ...

Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum
—

Georgia Writers Hall of Fame The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame honors writers who have made significant contributions to the literary legacy of the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Established in 2000 by the University of Georgia Libraries’ Hargrett Rare Book and Manu ...

*
Erskine Caldwell signing a copy of book, "Tobacco Road", April 1936

Harris & Ewing Harris & Ewing Inc. was a photographic studio in Washington, D.C., owned and run by George W. Harris and Martha Ewing. History As a rookie news photographer, Harris covered the Johnstown flood of 1889 in Pennsylvania. He worked at Hearst Ne ...

photography collection,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Fujisato Kitajima

Keiwa College is a private university in Shibata, Niigata, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Ja ...

, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English and Communication {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Erskine 1903 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American novelists American erotica writers American travel writers American Presbyterians Deaths from emphysema Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from lung cancer People from Coweta County, Georgia Burials in Oregon Erskine College alumni People from Jefferson County, Georgia American male novelists Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church American male essayists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters