Talk:William Styron
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"Despite public defenses of Styron by both Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, a large group of African-American critics reviled Styron’s portrayal of Turner as racist stereotyping, or to be writing about things of which he was not obligated to write..."
This sentence makes no sense to me.
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I agree. While it's true that James Baldwin publically defended Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turner, what's the source of the supposed fact that Ralph Ellison also publically defended it? There's an incident described in William Styron: A Life by James L.W. West III, where Ellison shares the stage with Styron at a college presentation in which Styron is being criticized by audience members. Ellison claimed not to have read the book, which the biographer states led to a cooling off in the relationship between the two authors. It's certainly possible that Ellison changed his opinion about it, however, I'd like to know where he publically defend it, because I haven't been able to find such a defense in his essays, and his biography by Lawrence Jackson ends in the early 1950s.
"The Rebellious Slave: Nat Turner in American Memory" (2005) by Scot R. French, describes some of the controversy over Styron's book. French states that African American historian John Hope Franklin, and I believe Nathan Huggins, as well, endorsed the book's historical scholarship (it is, of course, a work of fiction). However, French fails to mention the book's endorsement in the 1990s by both Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cornel West, then of Harvard, who attributed the controversy to the excesses of the 1960s. French also neglects to mention Spike Lee's expressed interest in basing a film on Styron's novel. I suppose those facts can be verified by an Internet search, although I'm not certain.
- Happened to look at this article again today (I wrote most of the objectionable material--perhaps my first Wiki article, actually) and thought I'd address some concerns. Spike Lee seems to have given up on the Nat Turner project, but you can find sources on his original interest here http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9812/styron.html. Ellison's defense of Styron does occur on that occasion that they shared a stage; it's contained in Conversations with Ralph Ellison. Though Ellison hasn't read it, he does defend Styron's "right" to write on black affairs--but I've obviously no objection to this bit being removed. --Dvyost 21:56, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
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The following discussion is from TBHecht and is contributed on Nov. 2, 2006, the day after William Styron died:
Criticism: The current section on Styron's "Early years" contains a number of inaccuracies.
"Styron’s childhood was a difficult one...."
Comment: Wrong, at least from Bill Styron's perspective. He often described his childhood as a happy time.
"His father soon sent the increasingly rebellious Styron to Christchurch School..."
Comment:Wrong again, at least from Styron's perspective. He was sent to this school after his mother died and he liked the school.
"On graduation, Styron enrolled in Davidson College, but eventually dropped out to join the Marines toward the end of World War II. Though Styron was made a lieutenant, the Japanese surrendered before Styron’s ship left San Francisco. Styron then enrolled in Duke University, which would later grant him a B.A. in English...."
Comment: Styron did not "drop out." It was during World War II and he, to do his part, enlisted in the Marines. He was transferred by the Marines from Davidson to Duke. After the War he reentered Duke.
Parting Comments: A better section is clearly needed on Styron's early years. Sections are also clearly needed to address Styron's middle years and his later years. He was one of American's great writers and deserves a better entry in Wikipedia.
- All of those changes make sense to me pending sources; the bio section was culled from the Dictionary of Literary Biography and Contemporary Authors, two pubs that I often question the fact-checking of. If you've got quotes/sources from Styron interviews, I say go for it... --Dvyost 21:56, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
I have changed "Prix de Rome" to "Rome Prize." As the staff of the American Academy in Rome, which awards this prize in conjunction with the American Academy of Arts and Letters, will tell you in no uncertain terms, the "Prix de Rome" is awarded by the French Academy. The American Academy awards the "Rome Prize."
[edit] Date of Death
- I have changed his date of death to November 1 to October 31 as per sources. Capitalistroadster 05:59, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
- It appears to have been changed back. What are the sources? -- the GREAT Gavini 18:33, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
According to several obituaries, including those in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, Styron died on Wednesday, which was November 1.
[edit] Biography assessment rating comment
The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article.-- Jreferee 22:38, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
