Cecil Dawkins
Encyclopedia
Cecil Dawkins is a North America
n author
primarily of fiction
.
She was born in 1927 in Birmingham, Alabama
, where she grew to adulthood. After graduating from the University of Alabama
with a B.A. in English in 1949, she studied at Stanford University
, where she earned her M.A. degree in English Literature in 1953. Her second year at Stanford she was awarded the Stanford University Creative Writing Fellowship, (now the Wallace Stegner Fellowship), 1952-1953.
She has held the following academic positions:
The Quiet Enemy, a collection of Dawkins' short stories, was published by Athenaeum
in 1963 and was concurrently published by Andre Deutsch
in London
. One story in that collection appeared in a Martha Foley
Best American Short Stories of 1963 collection and also won an award in Southwest Review
and the John H. McGinnis Award for the Best Story in Two Years. Individual stories from this collection had first appeared in the Paris Review
, the Georgia Review, and the Sewanee Review
. The Quiet Enemy was reissued in the Penguin Contemporary American Fiction series, and again, in 1996, by the Georgia University Press.
During 1966-67, a play in two acts by Dawkins, The Displaced Person
, based on the stories of Flannery O'Connor
"with her knowledge and input," was produced in New York City
by the American Place Theater. Dawkins regularly corresponded with O'Connor. A large number of O'Connor's letters to Dawkins are published in Letters of Flannery O'Connor: The Habit of Being, edited by Sally Fitzgerald.
In 1971, Harper and Row published Dawkins' first novel, The Live Goat, winner of the Harper-Saxton Fellowship. Her second novel, Charleyhorse, published by Viking in 1985, was reissued by Penguin in 1986 and again by Allison in 1989.
Dawkins also wrote a series of mystery novels set in New Mexico
, published by Fawcett: The Santa Fe Rembrandt, 1993; Clay Dancers, 1994; Rare Earth, 1995; and Turtle Truths, 1997.
In 2002 Dawkins compiled a biography
of Frances Martin, aka Frances Minerva Nunnery, from Martin's tape-recorded reminiscences, called A Woman of the Century, Frances Minerva Nunnery (1898-1997): Her Story in Her Own Memorable Voice as Told to Cecil Dawkins (University of New Mexico Press
, 2002), with a Foreword by Max Evans
and a Preface and an Afterword by Dawkins.
Dawkins has additionally been awarded the following:
Dawkins now resides in New Mexico.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
primarily of fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
.
She was born in 1927 in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, where she grew to adulthood. After graduating from the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
with a B.A. in English in 1949, she studied at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where she earned her M.A. degree in English Literature in 1953. Her second year at Stanford she was awarded the Stanford University Creative Writing Fellowship, (now the Wallace Stegner Fellowship), 1952-1953.
She has held the following academic positions:
- Writer in Residence, Stephens CollegeStephens CollegeStephens College is a women's college located in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833 as the Columbia Female Academy. In 1856, David H. Hickman turned it into a college,...
, 1973-1979. - Guest faculty, Sarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, 1979-1981. - Distinguished Visiting Writer, University of HawaiiUniversity of HawaiiThe University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, 1991. - Calloway/O'Conner Chair Professor, Georgia College, Milledgeville, GAMilledgeville, GeorgiaMilledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon, located just before Eatonton on the way to Athens along U.S. Highway 441, and it is located on the Oconee River. The relatively rapid current of the Oconee here made this an...
, 1996-1997.
The Quiet Enemy, a collection of Dawkins' short stories, was published by Athenaeum
Atheneum Books
Atheneum Books was a publishing house and adult publisher created by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. in 1959. He recruited editor Jean E. Karl personally, to come and establish a Children's Book Department in 1961....
in 1963 and was concurrently published by Andre Deutsch
André Deutsch
André Deutsch was a British publisher.After having learned the business of publishing working for Francis Aldor with whom he was interned in the Isle of Man during the Second World War and who had introduced him to the industry, André Deutsch left Aldor's employment after a few months to continue...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. One story in that collection appeared in a Martha Foley
Martha Foley
Martha Foley cofounded Story magazine in 1931 with her husband Whit Burnett. She achieved some notoriety by introducing notable authors through the magazine such as J. D. Salinger, Tennessee Williams and Richard Wright...
Best American Short Stories of 1963 collection and also won an award in Southwest Review
Southwest Review
The Southwest Review is a literary journal published quarterly, based on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas. It is the third oldest literary quarterly in the United States of America . The current editor-in-chief is Willard Spiegelman.The journal was formerly known as the...
and the John H. McGinnis Award for the Best Story in Two Years. Individual stories from this collection had first appeared in the Paris Review
Paris Review
The Paris Review is a literary quarterly founded in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen and George Plimpton. Plimpton edited the Review from its founding until his death in 2003. In its first five years, The Paris Review published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip Larkin, V. S...
, the Georgia Review, and 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...
. The Quiet Enemy was reissued in the Penguin Contemporary American Fiction series, and again, in 1996, by the Georgia University Press.
During 1966-67, a play in two acts by Dawkins, The Displaced Person
The Displaced Person
"The Displaced Person" is a short story by Flannery O'Connor. It was published in 1955 in her short story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find. A devout Roman Catholic, O'Connor often used religious themes in her work and her own family hired a displaced person after World War II.- Plot summary...
, based on the stories 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...
"with her knowledge and input," was produced in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by the American Place Theater. Dawkins regularly corresponded with O'Connor. A large number of O'Connor's letters to Dawkins are published in Letters of Flannery O'Connor: The Habit of Being, edited by Sally Fitzgerald.
In 1971, Harper and Row published Dawkins' first novel, The Live Goat, winner of the Harper-Saxton Fellowship. Her second novel, Charleyhorse, published by Viking in 1985, was reissued by Penguin in 1986 and again by Allison in 1989.
Dawkins also wrote a series of mystery novels set in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, published by Fawcett: The Santa Fe Rembrandt, 1993; Clay Dancers, 1994; Rare Earth, 1995; and Turtle Truths, 1997.
In 2002 Dawkins compiled 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 Frances Martin, aka Frances Minerva Nunnery, from Martin's tape-recorded reminiscences, called A Woman of the Century, Frances Minerva Nunnery (1898-1997): Her Story in Her Own Memorable Voice as Told to Cecil Dawkins (University of New Mexico Press
University of New Mexico Press
The University of New Mexico Press, founded in 1929, is a university press that is part of the University of New Mexico. Its administrative offices are in the Office of Research , on the campus of UNM in Albuquerque....
, 2002), with a Foreword by Max Evans
Max Evans
Maxwell "Max" Evans is a fictional character created by Melinda Metz for the young adults book series Roswell High and adapted by Jason Katims for the 1999-2002 American science fiction television series Roswell...
and a Preface and an Afterword by Dawkins.
Dawkins has additionally been awarded the following:
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, 1966, with an extension for 1967. - National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Grant, 1976-1977.
Dawkins now resides in New Mexico.