James Farl Powers (July 8, 1917June 12, 1999) was an American

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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer who often drew his inspiration from developments in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and was known for his studies of Catholic priests in the Midwest. Although not a priest himself, he is known for having captured a "clerical idiom" in postwar North America. His first novel, '' Morte d'Urban'', won the 1963

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, bu ...

Early life

Powers was born in

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city and the county seat of Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,616 at the 2020 census, down from 19,446 in 2010. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois Sc ...

to a devout Catholic family. He graduated from Quincy College Academy, a Franciscan high school. He took English and philosophy courses at

Wright Junior College Wilbur Wright College, formerly known as Wright Junior College, is a public community college in Chicago. Part of the City Colleges of Chicago system, it offers two-year associate's degrees, as well as occupational training in IT, manufacturing, ...

and at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in Chicago, but did not earn a degree. He had various jobs, such as insurance salesman, sales clerk, editor and bookstore clerk.

Career

Powers was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and went to prison for it. Later he worked as a hospital orderly. His first writing experiment began as a spiritual exercise during a religious retreat. His work has long been admired for its gentle satire and its astonishing ability to recreate with a few words the insular but gradually changing world of post-World War II American Catholicism.

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. O'Connor was a Southern writer who of ...

, and

Walker Percy Walker Percy, Oblate of Saint Benedict, OblSB (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American writer whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is noted for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans; his first, ''Th ...

praised his work, and

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on as ...

spoke of him as "among the greatest living storytellers". ''Prince of Darkness and Other Stories'' appeared in 1947. His story "The Valiant Woman" received the O. Henry Award in 1947. ''The Presence of Grace'' (1956) was also a collection of short stories. His first novel was ''Morte d'Urban'' (1962), which won the 1963

."National Book Awards – 1963"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...

. Retrieved 2012-02-26. (With acceptance speech by Powers and essay by Joshua Ferris and Fiona Maazel from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) ''Look How the Fish Live'' appeared in 1975 and ''Wheat that Springeth Green'' in 1988. Powers lived in Ireland for thirteen years. After moving back and forth from Ireland, he settled with his family in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he taught

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

and

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at Saint John's University."J. F. Powers, 81, Dies; Wrote About Priests"
''The New York Times'' Following his death in 1999, the ''New York Review'' reissued his novels and published ''The Stories of J. F. Powers'' in 2000. The Southern Illinois University Special Collections Research Center has collected the records or Manuscript Collections Created by Powers.

Family life

Powers met and married Betty Wahl after reviewing a sample of Wahl's fiction. Sister Mariella Gable, OSB, a member of the

College of Saint Benedict The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related Private college, private, Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. The College of Sai ...

English faculty, sent him the sample and Powers asked to meet the writer. Powers and Wahl were married on April 22, 1946, after Wahl's graduation. They had five children, including the artists

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and Jane.

Published works

*''Prince of Darkness and Other Stories'' (1947) *''Cross Country. St. Paul, Home of the Saints'' (1949) *''The Presence of Grace'' (1956) *'' Morte d'Urban'' (novel, 1962) *''Lions, Harts, Leaping Does, and Other Stories'' (1963) *''Look How the Fish Live'' (1975) *'' Wheat that Springeth Green'' (novel, 1988) *''The Old Bird, A Love Story'' (1991) *''The Stories of J. F. Powers'' (1999) *''Suitable Accommodations: An Autobiographical Story of Family Life: The Letters of J. F. Powers, 1942-1963'', edited by Katherine A. Powers (2013)

References

External links

Minnesota Author Biographies Project: J. F. Powers
* Joseph Bottum
"The Greatest Catholic Writer of the 20th Century"
(First Things)
Portland magazine: The Gospel according to J. F. Powers
* F.X. Feeney
"A Saint With a Bad Temper: J.F. Powers and Company"
.A. Review of Books, 11 December 2013*Novelist Jon Hassler interviews Powers about his life and early writings, ''Northern Lights'' TV series #414 (Part One) (1998): https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll38:98#/kaltura_video *Hassler interviews Powers about his literary works, ''Northern Lights'' #415 (Part Two) (1998): https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll38:99#/kaltura_video {{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, J F 1917 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American novelists American Christian pacifists American conscientious objectors American male novelists American Roman Catholic writers National Book Award winners Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Minnesota American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers People from Jacksonville, Illinois Wilbur Wright College alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Catholics from Illinois Catholic pacifists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters