Philip Duffield Stong (January 27, 1899 – April 26, 1957) was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for the 1932 novel ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

'', which was adapted as a film three times ( 1933,

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

and

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

) and as a Broadway musical in 1996.

Biography

Stong was born in Pittsburg, Iowa, near Keosauqua. His father operated the general store, which is now an antique store. The 1844 brick house where Stong was born is located adjacent to the store and is now a private residence. He attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. Stong scored his first success in 1932 with the publication of his famous novel, ''State Fair'', which was later adapted for the screen as the hit

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical of the same name. In addition to his novels, his short stories were published in most of the leading national magazines of the time, and he wrote several screenplays. His novel "The Stranger's Return" was also made into a motion picture, starring Academy Award winning Actor, Lionel Barrymore. About his writing career, he once said, "Fell while trying to clamber out of a low bathtub at the age of two. Became a writer. No other possible career." In a poll carried out by the ''

Saturday Review of Literature ''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, ess ...

'' asking American writers which Presidential candidate they endorsed in the 1940 election, Stong stated that he had voted for

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in the 1936 election, but that he was now going to vote for

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

.''"Among those who voted for Mr.Roosevelt in 1936 but who will support the Republican candidate next Tuesday are... Phil Stong..."'' "Editorial: Presidential Poll", ''Saturday Review of Literature''. November 2nd, 1940 (p.8). Stong created a 466-page anthology published by Wilfred Funk in 1941, ''The Other Worlds'', later issued with the descriptive subtitle ''25 Modern Stories of Mystery and Imagination''. It was considered by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...

(in the foreword to '' Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction'') to be the first anthology of science-fiction. Compiling stories from 1930s pulp magazines, along with what Stong called "Scientifiction" it also contained works of horror and fantasy. ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

'' describes it as "about half sf and half horror" and observes that for science fiction the pulp magazines were a new source of material for hardcover reissue. In his essay ''How to Name a Dog,''

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...

reports that he met Stong's spaniel and learned, to its owner's embarrassment, that the dog's name was Thurber. He suggests, by way of revenge, that the reader name his dog Stong. Asked in 1951 to comment on

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

, Stong responded: "I’ve never gone deeply enough into any of the various definitions of “humanism” to be able to make any intelligent or instructive comment on the subject. When I read any of these tenuous expositions, they remind me (a) of the blind men and the elephant and (b) that I'd better have a glass of beer and get to bed. I don't see how you distinguish between the humanism of More and that of Dewey or of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

or Lackland or

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

or Bunyan or Saintsbury or Taine. The boys that practice it seem to me tremendously more effective than the ones who preach it from the varied pulpits." Stong published more than forty books. He died at his home in

Washington, Connecticut Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civi ...

, on April 26, 1957. He is buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Keosauqua.

Books

;Adult *''Adventures of "Horse" Barnsby'' (1956) *''Blizzard'' (1955) *''Buckskin Breeches'' (1937) *''Career'' (1936) *''Farmer in the Dell'' (1935) *''Gold in Them Hills'' (1957) *''Hiram, the Hillbilly'' (1951) *’’Horses and Americans’ (1939) *''The Iron Mountain'' (1942) *''Ivanhoe Keeler'' (1939) *''Jessamy John'' (1947) *''The Long Lane'' (1939) *''Mississippi Pilot'' (1954) *''One Destiny'' (1941) *''The Princess'' (1941) *''The Rebellion of Lennie Barlow'' (1937) *''Return in August'' (1953) *''

'' (1932) *''Stranger's Return'' (1933) *''Village Tale'' (1934) *''Week-end'' (1935) *''Marta of Muscovy'' (1945) ;Anthology * ''The Other Worlds'' ( Wilfred Funk, 1941); ''The Other Worlds: 25 Modern Stories of Mystery and Imagination'' (Garden City Publishing, 1942). Retrieved 2014-09-20 ;Juvenile *'' Honk, the Moose'' (1935;

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

Honor Book) *''Farm Boy: A Hunt for Indian Treasure'' (1934) *''Phil Stong's Big Book: Farm Boy; High Water; No-Sitch, The Hound'' (1937) *''Young Settler'' *''The Hired Man's Elephant'' (1939) *"Captain Kidd's Cow" (1941) *''Way Down Cellar'' (1942) *''Censored, the Goat'' (1945) ''State Fair'' and ''Marta of Muscovy'' were published as

Armed Services Edition Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were small paperback books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the American military during World War II. From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million copies of more than 1,300 ASE titles were distributed to s ...

s during WWII.

References

;Citations * Hassler, Donald M. (

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

). "Phil(ip) (Duffield) Stong." Located in: Greasley, Philip A. (editor) ''Dictionary of Midwestern Literature: The Authors''. Indiana University Press, January 1, 2001. , 9780253336095.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stong, Phil 1899 births 1957 deaths American children's writers Newbery Honor winners Drake University alumni People from Van Buren County, Iowa Novelists from Iowa 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Iowa American male screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters