Andrew Nelson Lytle
Encyclopedia
Andrew Nelson Lytle was an American novelist, dramatist, essayist and professor of literature. He was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
, and early in his life planned to be an actor and playwright. He studied acting at Yale University
and performed on Broadway
when he was in his 20s.
Unlike other Southern intellectuals who left the region never to return, Lytle went home after the death of a kinsman. Except for brief sojourns elsewhere, he remained in the South for the rest of his life.
Lytle's first literary success came as a result of his association with the Southern Agrarians
, a movement whose members included poets Robert Penn Warren
and Allen Tate
, whom Lytle knew from Vanderbilt University
. In fact, most historians of the Agrarian movement consider Lytle to be one of its driving forces and the movement's most artful and consistent spokesman. The group of poets, novelists and writers published the 1930s I'll Take My Stand, which expressed their philosophy. In 1948, Lytle helped start the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Florida
.http://www.english.ufl.edu/crw/
Lytle first published a biography
of Nathan Bedford Forrest
, the Confederate
general of the American Civil War
: Bedford Forrest and his Critter Company (1931). Lytle went on to write more than a dozen books, including novels, collected short stories, and collections of essays on literary and cultural topics.
Most critics consider The Velvet Horn (1957) to be Lytle's best work. It was nominated for the National Book Award
for fiction. His 1973 memoir, A Wake For The Living, is a tour-de-force in Southern storytelling, combining a deep religious sensibility, an expansive view of history that links events across decades and even centuries, and—sometimes—bawdy family tales.
Lytle served as editor of the Sewanee Review
from 1961 to 1973 while he was a professor at the University of the South. During Lytle's tenure, the Review became one of the nation's most prestigious literary magazines. Lytle was an early champion of Flannery O'Connor
's work. Lytle encouraged many writers, including Allen Tate and Robert Penn Warren, but also Elizabeth Bishop
, Caroline Gordon
, and Robert Lowell
. His insightful criticism often improved their work.
Lytle taught literature and creative writing at the University of Florida
, where he had Merrill Joan Gerber
and Harry Crews
as students.
Though Lytle retired from the University of the South in 1973, he never fully retired from either writing or teaching. In the last years of his life, he had what he called the "great pleasure" of seeing most of his earlier books come back into print. Several university presses published collections of his stories and essays.
A warm and hospitable host, and an irrepressible raconteur, Lytle spent the last 20 years living in his cabin on the grounds of the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly
in Monteagle, Tennessee
, not far from the campus of the University of the South. A trip to the cabin became a kind of pilgrimage for many writers, teachers, and scholars. One famous tale concerned Lytle's making a trip to Nashville and riding on an elevator with his pet rooster. He often recounted a favorite memory from his youth: one Sunday morning in church, as the collection plate was being passed, his father noticed a young Lytle dropping a quarter in. The father removed the quarter, handed it back, and remarked with a wink: "A penny makes just as much noise."
Lytle had two great literary loves in his life. One was Gustave Flaubert
's Madame Bovary
and the other Sigrid Undset
's Kristin Lavransdatter
. The latter helped earn its Norwegian
author the Nobel Prize
for literature.
Lytle's last book was short; Kristin: A Reading is an affectionate, insightful, and idiosyncratic take on Undset's work. It was published in 1992, just a few years before Lytle's death.
Lytle died in 1995, two weeks shy of his ninety-third birthday. At the time of his death he was still living in his cabin at Monteagle.
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
, and early in his life planned to be an actor and playwright. He studied acting at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and performed on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
when he was in his 20s.
Unlike other Southern intellectuals who left the region never to return, Lytle went home after the death of a kinsman. Except for brief sojourns elsewhere, he remained in the South for the rest of his life.
Lytle's first literary success came as a result of his association with the Southern Agrarians
Southern Agrarians
The Southern Agrarians were a group of twelve American writers, poets, essayists, and novelists, all with roots in the Southern United States, who joined together to write a pro-Southern agrarian manifesto, a...
, a movement whose members included poets Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the influential literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935...
and Allen Tate
Allen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
, whom Lytle knew from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. In fact, most historians of the Agrarian movement consider Lytle to be one of its driving forces and the movement's most artful and consistent spokesman. The group of poets, novelists and writers published the 1930s I'll Take My Stand, which expressed their philosophy. In 1948, Lytle helped start the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
.http://www.english.ufl.edu/crw/
Lytle first published a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
general of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
: Bedford Forrest and his Critter Company (1931). Lytle went on to write more than a dozen books, including novels, collected short stories, and collections of essays on literary and cultural topics.
Most critics consider The Velvet Horn (1957) to be Lytle's best work. It was nominated for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for fiction. His 1973 memoir, A Wake For The Living, is a tour-de-force in Southern storytelling, combining a deep religious sensibility, an expansive view of history that links events across decades and even centuries, and—sometimes—bawdy family tales.
Lytle served as editor of the Sewanee Review
Sewanee Review
The Sewanee Review is a literary journal established in 1892 and the oldest continuously published periodical of its kind in the United States. It incorporates original fiction and poetry, as well as essays, reviews, and literary criticism...
from 1961 to 1973 while he was a professor at the University of the South. During Lytle's tenure, the Review became one of the nation's most prestigious literary magazines. Lytle was an early champion of Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
's work. Lytle encouraged many writers, including Allen Tate and Robert Penn Warren, but also Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...
, Caroline Gordon
Caroline Gordon
Caroline Ferguson Gordon was a notable American novelist and literary critic who, while still in her thirties, was the recipient of two prestigious literary awards, a 1932 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 1934 O...
, and Robert Lowell
Robert Lowell
Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress where he served from 1947 until 1948...
. His insightful criticism often improved their work.
Lytle taught literature and creative writing at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he had Merrill Joan Gerber
Merrill Joan Gerber
Merrill Joan Gerber was born in Brooklyn, New York She has published twenty seven books,and is an award winning novelist and short story writer. In 1986 Gerber won an O. Henry Prize. In 1993, she won the Ribalow Award from Hadassah Magazine for her novel, The Kingdom of Brooklyn...
and Harry Crews
Harry Crews
Harry Crews is an American novelist, playwright, short story writer and essayist. He was born in Bacon County, Georgia in 1935 and served in the Marines during the Korean War. He attended the University of Florida on the GI Bill, but dropped out to travel...
as students.
Though Lytle retired from the University of the South in 1973, he never fully retired from either writing or teaching. In the last years of his life, he had what he called the "great pleasure" of seeing most of his earlier books come back into print. Several university presses published collections of his stories and essays.
A warm and hospitable host, and an irrepressible raconteur, Lytle spent the last 20 years living in his cabin on the grounds of the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly
Monteagle Sunday School Assembly
The Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, or MSSA, is a church. Its Charter, which was granted by the State of Tennessee on October 31, 1882, states the purpose of the Assembly:the advancement of science, literary attainment, Sunday School...
in Monteagle, Tennessee
Monteagle, Tennessee
Monteagle is a town in Franklin, Grundy, and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Cumberland Plateau region of the southeastern part of the state...
, not far from the campus of the University of the South. A trip to the cabin became a kind of pilgrimage for many writers, teachers, and scholars. One famous tale concerned Lytle's making a trip to Nashville and riding on an elevator with his pet rooster. He often recounted a favorite memory from his youth: one Sunday morning in church, as the collection plate was being passed, his father noticed a young Lytle dropping a quarter in. The father removed the quarter, handed it back, and remarked with a wink: "A penny makes just as much noise."
Lytle had two great literary loves in his life. One was Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary , and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.-Early life and education:Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen,...
's Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert's first published novel and is considered his masterpiece. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life...
and the other Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
's Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter is the common name for a trilogy of historical novels written by Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are Kransen , first published in 1920, Husfrue , published in 1921, and Korset , published in 1922...
. The latter helped earn its Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
author the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for literature.
Lytle's last book was short; Kristin: A Reading is an affectionate, insightful, and idiosyncratic take on Undset's work. It was published in 1992, just a few years before Lytle's death.
Lytle died in 1995, two weeks shy of his ninety-third birthday. At the time of his death he was still living in his cabin at Monteagle.