Helen Norris Bell (June 22, 1916 – November 18, 2013) was an American novelist and short story author who was Poet Laureate of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. Although most of Norris' work can be considered

southern literature Southern United States literature consists of American literature written about the Southern United States or by writers from the region. Literature written about the American South first began during the colonial era, and developed significan ...

she also wrote many stories set in many places around the world, often preferring to write what she imagined to what she knew.

Life

She began writing as a child and graduated from

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1938. Her first novel, ''Something More Than Earth'', was published in 1940. The book, though launched with a party attended by

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...

, was not a commercial success. Norris stopped writing after the birth of her children but began again in the 1950s with one novel unpublished until the 1980s and another, ''For the Glory of God'', that was published in 1958. In 1966 she began teaching English at Huntington College in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

until her retirement in 1979. Following her retirement, Norris actively pursued her writing career with several published books. Her short stories have appeared in ''

Southern Review ''The Southern Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established by Robert Penn Warren in 1935 at the behest of Charles W. Pipkin and funded by Huey Long as a part of his investment in Louisiana State University. It publishes ficti ...

'', ''

Sewanee Review ''The Sewanee Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1892. It is the oldest continuously published quarterly in the United States. It publishes original fiction and poetry, essays, reviews, and literary criticism. History ''Th ...

'', ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', and ''

The Gettysburg Review ''The Gettysburg Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine featuring short stories, poetry, essays and reviews. Work appearing in the magazine often is reprinted in "best-of" anthologies and receives awards. The little magazine "is recognized ...

'', among other literary journals. Her honors include

O. Henry Awards The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

, a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, and the

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...

Women's Biennial Award for best novel. Two of her stories have been made into television films. "The Christmas Wife" was filmed in 1988 starring

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

and

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

and was broadcast for several Christmas seasons. "The Cracker Man" was filmed for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

stations in 1999. In 2015 she was inducted into the inaugural class of the Alabama Writers' Hall of Fame.

Books

;Novels * ''Something More Than Earth''. Atlantic/Little, Brown, 1940. * ''For the Glory of God''. McMillan, 1958. * ''More Than Seven Watchmen'', Zondervan, 1985 (written in the 1950s). * ''Walk With the Sickle Moon''. Birch Lane Press, 1985. ;Short story collections * ''The Christmas Wife: Stories''.

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic project ...

, 1985 * ''Water Into Wine''. University of Illinois Press, 1988. * ''The Burning Glass: Stories''.

LSU Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...

, 1992. * ''One Day in the Life of a Born Again Loser, and Other Stories''. University of Alabama, 2000. ;Poetry collections * ''Whatever Is Round''. Curbow Publications, 1994. * ''Rain Pulse''. Timberline Press, 1997.

References

External links

Alabama Literary Landscape: Helen Norris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Helen 1916 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American novelists Novelists from Alabama American women short story writers Writers from Miami Poets Laureate of Alabama American women poets American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American poets Poets from Alabama 20th-century American short story writers PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners Novelists from Florida 21st-century American women