William M. John

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William M. John
Born
William Mestrezat John

1888
Trinidad, Colorado, United States
Died1962
Los Angeles, California, United States
Alma materPrinceton University

William Mestrezat John (1888⁠ – 1962) was an American rancher, short story writer, and novelist.[1][2][3]

Early life[edit]

John was born in Trinidad, Colorado. He attended Princeton University and graduated in 1910.[4] Among this graduating class, he was one of only six students heralding from west of the Mississippi River.[2]

Career[edit]

Later in life, John would return to Colorado, continuing his life as a rancher and farmer. He took up writing, fictionalizing individuals he witnessed in life. Many of his works were set in the fictional Tumbleweed Valley.[1] It is believed that this location may have been based on the "Sunflower Valley" in Las Animas County, Colorado.[2][5]

His first novel, 1929's Seven Women, garnered critical praise from The New York Times.[6][3] The Saturday Review praised the book's overall quality, saying the writing was impressive for a debut novel, but they also criticized the characters for being one dimensional.[7] The Bookman's brief review somewhat contradicts The Saturday Review, suggesting John successfully justified the ruthless characters, giving readers insight into each woman's worldview.[8] The Philadelphia Inquirer, in a critical notice of Every Wise Woman (1931), described Seven Women as "psychologically acute".[9]

Mere months after his debut novel appeared as a best-seller, his short story "Neither Jew nor Greek" won him an O. Henry Award in 1930, tying with W. R. Burnett's short story, "Dressing Up." The two authors shared equally the $500 prize money.[10][11] John's second novel, Every Wise Woman (1931), received criticism from The Saturday Review, which described the novel as blunt, monotonous, and less effective than John's previous book.[12] However, John's novel Mingled Yarn (1933) received praise from The Denver Post, with columnist Caroline Bancroft saying, "[John is] fast becoming that of a first-rate humorist in that homely American tradition of which Mark Twain is its outstanding example."[13][3]

In 1931, John would become an elected officer to the newly formed Colorado Author's League.[14] However, following a non-fatal heart attack, John's writing career effectively concluded in the early 1940s.[3]

Literary works[edit]

Novels[edit]

  • Seven Women (1929)[15][6]
  • Every Wise Woman (1931)
  • Mingled Yarn (1933)
  • Circumstance (1935)[16][17]

Short stories[edit]

  • "Through Hell," The Century Magazine (September 1926)
  • "In the Interests of Light and Learnin'," The Century Magazine (September 1927)
  • "Tilly Tells the Story," The Century Magazine (December 1927)
  • "Love Germ," The Century Magazine (February 1928)
  • "Miss Pansy's Pansies," The Century Magazine (July 1928)
  • "Concernin' Names," The Century Magazine (September 1928)
  • "That Passeth Understandin'," The Century Magazine (February 1929)
  • "Vieve's Man," The Century Magazine (April 1929)
  • "Neither Jew Nor Greek," The Century Magazine (August 1929)
  • "After All I've Done," Ladies' Home Journal (September 1930)
  • "I-and-My," Ladies' Home Journal (April 1931)[18]
  • "Emma and Frank," Scribner's Magazine (December 1937)

Literary awards[edit]

Scholarship foundation[edit]

John started a scholarship in honor of his sister, Mary John Goree, who died in 1944. Established in 1947 (only taking effect in 1962 after John's death), The Princeton Goree Scholarship is offered to Las Animas County, Colorado students looking to attend Princeton.[2]

In 2014, the foundation overseeing the scholarship (the Mary John Goree Las Animas County Scholarship Foundation) created a second scholarship called the Las Animas Goree Scholarship, an award offered to students looking to attend colleges other than Princeton.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Williams, Blanche (1935). Great American Short Stories: O. Henry Memorial Prize Winning Stories 1919-1934. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company. p. 614.
  2. ^ a b c d Simpson, Kevin (May 16, 2019). "How does a rural Colorado county with three people per square mile send 30 students to an Ivy League institution?". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Hemesath, James B. (1997). Vintage Colorado Short Stories. The University of Michigan. p. 98, 112. ISBN 9780870814594.
  4. ^ "Colorado Farm Life". Princeton Alumni Weekly. 32 (17): 394. 1931.
  5. ^ Grinstead, Steve; Fogelberg, Ben (2004). Western Voices: 125 Years of Colorado Writing. Fulcrum Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 9781555915315.
  6. ^ a b ""Seven Women" and Some Other Recent Works of Fiction". The New York Times. October 20, 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Ladies' Aid Society ⁠— SEVEN WOMEN". The Saturday Review. October 12, 1929.
  8. ^ "Notes on New Books ⁠— Seven Women". The Bookman. Vol. 70, no. 6. February 1930. ProQuest 124732854.
  9. ^ "Literary Notes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 29, 1931. p. 6. ProQuest 1831180679.
  10. ^ "Goree Scholarship video". The Trinidad Chronicle-News. September 13, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Two Writers in Tie for O. Henry Award". The New York Times. November 7, 1930. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  12. ^ "The New Books ⁠— EVERY WISE WOMAN". The Saturday Review. November 7, 1931.
  13. ^ Bancroft, Caroline (1933). "Literary Flashlights ⁠— Mingled Yarn". The Denver Post.
  14. ^ Bancroft, Caroline (May 3, 1931). "The Colorado Authors League Begins". Denver Post. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Recent Fiction". Social Science. 5 (2): 259–261. 1930. ISSN 0037-7848. JSTOR 41885402.
  16. ^ "A Princeton Galahad". The New York Times. November 17, 1935. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  17. ^ "CAL's Origins". Colorado Authors' League. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  18. ^ Hannigan, Francis James (1918). The Standard Index of Short Stories, 1915⁠—1933. Boston Public Library. p. 650.
  19. ^ "About the Foundation". The Mary John Goree Las Animas County Scholarship Foundation. July 18, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
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