William March
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| William March | |
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 William March
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| Born | September 18, 1893 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | May 15, 1954 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
William March (born "William Edward Campbell" September 18, 1893 in Mobile, Alabama) was an American World War I soldier, short-story writer and novelist cited as being "the unrecognized genius of our time". His innovative writing style is characterized by a deep compassion and understanding of suffering. He often presents characters who, through no fault of their own, are victims of chance. He argues that true freedom is only obtained by being true to one's nature and humanity.
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[edit] Early Life
William March was born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama to a poor, itinerant family. Having ten other siblings, he was afforded no priviliges and by the age of 14 had dropped out of school and taken various employment so that he could fund his own education in law and business.
[edit] World War I
In May 1917, March volunteered for the U.S. Marines, a month after the U.S. entered World War I. He reached France in March 1918, serving as a Sergeant in Co F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 4th Brigade of Marines, Second Division of the U.S. Army Expeditionary Force.
March's company took part in every major engagement in which American troops were involved, incurring heavy casualties. As a member of the 5th Marines, March saw his first action on the old Verdun battlefield near Les Eparges and shortly thereafter at Belleau Wood, where he was wounded in the head and shoulder. He returned to the front in time for Saint-Mihie and an attack on Blanc Mont. March then participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and, along with his company, started preparing for a new assault, crossing the Meuse itself at Mouzon when the war finally ended.
As a result of his actions during the assault on Blanc Mont, March received the French Croix de Guerre and both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross for valor (The latter two decorations constitute the second highest awards, next only to the Medal of Honor, of the Army and Navy). The official citation to the Croix de Guerre reads as follows: "During the operations in Blanc Mont region, October 3rd-4th, 1918, he left a shelter to rescue the wounded. On October 5, during a counter-attack, the enemy having advanced to within 300 meters of the first aid station, he immediately entered the engagement and though wounded refused to be evacuated until the Germans were thrown back."
[edit] Later Years
March returned to civilian life shortly after, but was marred by bouts of anxiety and depression, which was a common occurrence with many returning veterans. Consequently, March rarely spoke of his war experiences or awards, coping instead by writing short stories about his experiences. Eventually, he completed his masterpiece, Company K, in 1933 followed by a string of critically and commercially successful novels, including his final novel, The Bad Seed which garnered the most commercial success of his career.
[edit] Works
Company K, published in 1933, was hailed as a masterpiece by many critics and writers alike. The writer Graham Greene wrote that "the book has the force of a mob protest; an outcry from anonymous throats. It is the only war book I have read which has found a new form to fit the novelty of protest." Company K has often been compared to Erich Maria Remarque's classic anti-war novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" for its hopeless view of war. The critic Philip Beidler wrote that "the act of writing Company K, in effect reliving his very painful memories, was itself an act of tremendous courage, equal to or greater than whatever it was that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and French Croix de Guerre".
After the success of Company K, March continued to write novels and stories into the 1950s. His style has been described as sparse and terse, often reflecting his own life and upbringing in rural Alabama. This has lead some critics to characterize March as a cross between Hemingway and Faulkner. Based on other novels that he has written, such as The Looking Glass and The Tallons, the legendary British-American journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke wrote that March was “the most underrated of all contemporary American writers of fiction” citing his unique style as “classic modern” and further stating that March was "the unrecognized genius of our time."
[edit] Death
March died at the peak of his success in New Orleans of a heart attack at the age of 61.
March did not live to see the enormous success of his last novel, The Bad Seed, about an eight year old sociopath who commits a series of murders. Published in 1954, the novel became a best seller, a long-running Broadway hit and in 1956, a Hollywood movie.
[edit] Awards and honors
- “The Little Wife” included in O. Henry Prize Stories, 1930
- “Fifteen from Company K” included in O. Henry Prize Stories, 1931
- “A Sum in Addition” included in O. Henry Prize Stories, 1936
- “The Last Meeting” included in O. Henry Prize Stories, 1937
- "The Bad Seed" National Book Award for Fiction, 1955
[edit] Bibliography
- Company K (1933, Novel)
- Come in at the door (1934, Novel)
- The Tallons (1936, Novel)
- The Looking Glass (1943, Novel)
- Trial balance : the collected short stories of William March (1945, Short Stories)
- October Island (1952, Novel)
- The Bad Seed (1954, Novel)
- 99 fables (1960, Short Stories)
