Josephine Lyons Scott Pinckney (January 25, 1895 – October 4, 1957) was a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and poet in the literary revival of the

American South 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 ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Her first best-selling novel was the social comedy, ''Three O'clock Dinner'' (1945).

Early life

Josephine Pinckney was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

on January 25, 1895 to Thomas Pinkney and Camilla Scott. She attended Ashley Hall and established a literary magazine there, graduating in 1912. She then attended college at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and held an honorary degree from the College of Charleston, given 1935. She received the Southern Authors Award in 1946.

Writing career

As a poet, novelist, and essayist, Pinckney was an active participant in the

Charleston Renaissance The Charleston Renaissance is a period between World Wars I and II in which the city of Charleston, South Carolina, experienced a boom in the arts as artists, writers, architects, and historical preservationists came together to improve and repres ...

. In 1920, she co-founded the Poetry Society of South Carolina. She was involved in institutions such as the Charleston Museum and Dock Street Theatre and was an early proponent of the historic preservation of Charleston. She was an active member of the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals, which transcribed and annotated African American songs. Both organizations met for the first time at Pinckney's home at 21 King St. in Charleston. She died October 4, 1957, and is buried in Magnolia Cemetery. Autobiographical snippet from the dust cover of ''Three O'clock Dinner'':

Josephine Pinckney may be described as a cosmopolitan Charlestonian. She has traveled widely abroad, spent a year in Italy, lived winters in New York and summers in Mexico, but she always goes back to home and garden in Charleston, just as her family, well known in the south, has for generations. A literary lady, she has previously published a book of poems, "Sea Drinking Cities" and a novel, ''Hilton Head.'' With DuBose Heyward, Hervey Allen and others, she started the Poetry Society of South Carolina, which has had a strong influence on the rebirth of literature in the South. As a hobby, Miss Pinckney collects and transcribes spirituals which she sings with a group called the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals. Gardening and dogs have a strong appeal for her, and she collects old china and first editions.

Works

Short stories (published in the ''Virginia Quarterly Review'')

*"They Shall Return As Strangers" (1934) *"The Merchant of London and the Treacherous Don" (1936)

Essay

*"Bulwarks Against Change" (1934)

Novels

*''Hilton Head'' (1941) *''Three O'clock Dinner'' (1945) *''Great Mischief'' (1948) *''My Son and Foe'' (1952) *''Splendid in Ashes'' (1958)

Poetry

*"Sea Drinking Cities" *"The Outcast" *"Swamp Lilies"

External links

Josephine Lyons Scott Pinckney
A biographical article
A book on Amazon.com
about Pinckney and her fall into obscurity

about ''Three O'Clock Dinner''

about the fantasy novel ''Great Mischief'' (1948) *
The Citadel Archives: Poetry Society of South Carolina Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinckney, Josephine 1895 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets American women novelists Novelists from South Carolina Writers of American Southern literature American women poets 20th-century American women writers Charleston Renaissance 20th-century American short story writers American women short story writers College of Charleston alumni Radcliffe College alumni Columbia University alumni Burials at Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina)