With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
1897 – 1975
Author and playwright Thornton Wilder was a three time Pulitzer Prize winner. One of his best known works is “Our Town,” a play that premiered in 1938 and is still produced all over the world.
- Biography/Description of Work
Born in 1897 in Wisconsin, Wilder’s family moved to Hong Kong where his father was appointed United States Consul General. In 1915 he began studies at Oberlin College in Ohio until 1917 when he transferred to Yale University in New Haven where he earned a degree in 1920. After World War I, Wilder began to teach and write, and in 1927 published “The Bridge at San Luis Rey,” which became a major success. With the money earned from this novel, he was able to support his family financially and purchase a house in Hamden. During the 1930s, Wilder taught at the University of Chicago before resigning in 1936. In 1938, his play, “Our Town,” debuted in New Jersey, and went on to Broadway where it was a huge success. The story portrayed life in Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire, a fictitious town that represented all small town life, and was progressive for its time due to its lack of background props and the use of a narrator to engage the audience. His 1938 play, “The Merchant of Yonkers,” though a flop on Broadway was ultimately adapted for the stage as “Hello Dolly,” to critical and popular acclaim. Other works followed, including, at the age of 75, his last novel, “Theophilus North” which was based on his own experiences as a teacher. Much of the writing for this novel was done in the studio at his home on Deepwood Drive, and was written in part as a reflection of his life. Wilder died in Hamden at the age of 78 in 1975.
- Sources view
- Becker, Martha. 1989. 'Thornton Wilder Collection – Interview with Isabel Wilder.' Hamden Historical Society. Accessed March 26, 2014; Niven, Penelope. 2012. 'Thornton Wilder: a life.' New York: Harper Collins Publishers; Whitman, Alden. 1975. 'Thornton Wilder is Dead at 78; Won 3 Pulitzers for His Work.' New York Times (1923-Current File), December 8. Accessed August 20, 2015. http://search.proquest.com/docview/120382453?accountid=47114; Wilder, Isabel. 1985. Forward to The Journals of Thornton Wilder, 1939-1961, edited by Donald Gallup, vii-xxiv. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou Press; The Thornton Wilder Society. 2015. 'Our Town.' Accessed August 20. http://www.twildersociety.org/works/our-town/; The Wilder Family, LLC. 2015. Wilder: The Official Website of the Thornton Wilder Family. Accessed August 20. http://thorntonwilder.com/.
- Associated Resource(s)