James T. Farrell
Encyclopedia
James Thomas Farrell was an American
novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan
trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979. The trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library
's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
, then known as St. Cyril, with future Egyptologist Richard Anthony Parker
. He then later attended the University of Chicago
. He began writing when he was 21 years old. A novelist, journalist, and short story writer known for his realistic portraits of the working class South Side Irish
, especially in the novels about the character Studs Lonigan. Farrell based his writing on his own experiences.
Among the writers who acknowledged Farrell as an inspiration was Norman Mailer
:
and Felix Morrow
s' criticism of the SWP and Fourth International
leaderships. With Goldman, he left the group in 1946 to join the Workers' Party.
Within the Workers' Party, Goldman and Farrell worked closely. In 1948, they developed criticisms of its policies, claiming that the party should support the Marshall Plan
and also Norman Thomas
' presidential
candidacy. Having come to believe that only capitalism
could defeat Stalinism
, they left to join the Socialist Party of America
. In the late 1960s, disenchanted with the political "center", while impressed with the SWP's involvement in the Civil Rights and US anti-Vietnam War movements, he reestablished contact with his former comrades of two decades earlier. Farrell attended one or more SWP-sponsored Militant Forum events (probably in NYC), but never rejoined the Trotskyist movement.
, the Chicago-based historian, adopted the name of "Studs" from Farrell's famous character Studs Lonigan.
The Studs Lonigan trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library
's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
On the 100th anniversary of Farrell's birth, Norman Mailer
was a panelist at the New York Public Library
's "James T. Farrell Centenary Celebration" on February 25, 2004 along with Pete Hamill
, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
and moderator Donald Yannella. They discussed Farrell's life and legacy.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan
Studs Lonigan
Studs Lonigan is the title of a novel trilogy by American author James T. Farrell: Young Lonigan, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgment Day. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked the Studs Lonigan trilogy at 29th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.The...
trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979. The trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library
Modern Library
The Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer...
's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
Biography
Farrell was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a large Irish-American family which included siblings Earl, Joseph, Helen, John and Mary. In addition, there were several other siblings who died in childbirth, as well as one who died from the influenza epidemic in 1917. Farrell attended Mt. Carmel High SchoolMount Carmel High School (Chicago)
Mount Carmel High School is an all boys, Catholic high school in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the school has been operated by the Carmelite order of priests and brothers since 1900...
, then known as St. Cyril, with future Egyptologist Richard Anthony Parker
Richard Anthony Parker
Richard Anthony Parker was a prominent Egyptologist and professor of Egyptology. Originally from Chicago, he attended Mt. Carmel High School with acclaimed author James T. Farrell. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1930, and a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1938...
. He then later attended the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He began writing when he was 21 years old. A novelist, journalist, and short story writer known for his realistic portraits of the working class South Side Irish
South Side Irish
South Side Irish is the term that refers to the large Irish-American community on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois.-South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade:...
, especially in the novels about the character Studs Lonigan. Farrell based his writing on his own experiences.
Among the writers who acknowledged Farrell as an inspiration was Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
:
"Mr. Mailer intended to major in aeronautical engineering, but by the time he was a sophomore, he had fallen in love with literature. He spent the summer reading and rereading James T. Farrell's “Studs Lonigan,” John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” and John Dos Passos’s “U.S.A.,” and he began, or so he claimed, to set himself a daily quota of 3,000 words of his own, on the theory that this was the way to get bad writing out of his system. By 1941 he was sufficiently purged to win the Story magazine prize for best short story written by an undergraduate."
Politics
Farrell was also active in Trotskyist politics and joined the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). He came to agree with Albert GoldmanAlbert Goldman (politician)
Albert Goldman was an American Trotskyist and lawyer to the labor movement.Born Albert Verblen in Chicago, he studied at Medhill High School and then the University of Cincinnati. He also studied to be a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College...
and Felix Morrow
Felix Morrow
Felix Morrow was an American communist political activist and newspaper editor. In later years, Morrow left the world of politics to become a book publisher. He is best remembered as a factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement....
s' criticism of the SWP and Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
leaderships. With Goldman, he left the group in 1946 to join the Workers' Party.
Within the Workers' Party, Goldman and Farrell worked closely. In 1948, they developed criticisms of its policies, claiming that the party should support the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
and also Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
' presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
candidacy. Having come to believe that only capitalism
could defeat Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
, they left to join the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. In the late 1960s, disenchanted with the political "center", while impressed with the SWP's involvement in the Civil Rights and US anti-Vietnam War movements, he reestablished contact with his former comrades of two decades earlier. Farrell attended one or more SWP-sponsored Militant Forum events (probably in NYC), but never rejoined the Trotskyist movement.
Marriages
Farrell was married twice. His first wife was Dorothy Butler. His second wife (from 1941 to 1955 when they divorced) was stage actress Hortense Alden. He and Alden had two sons, Kevin and John.Legacy
Studs TerkelStuds Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
, the Chicago-based historian, adopted the name of "Studs" from Farrell's famous character Studs Lonigan.
The Studs Lonigan trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library
Modern Library
The Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer...
's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
On the 100th anniversary of Farrell's birth, Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
was a panelist at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
's "James T. Farrell Centenary Celebration" on February 25, 2004 along with Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. was an American historian and social critic whose work explored the American liberalism of political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian"...
and moderator Donald Yannella. They discussed Farrell's life and legacy.
Posthumous editions
- Eight Short, Short Stories (1981)
- Sam Holman (1994)
- Hearing Out James T. Farrell: Selected Lectures (1997)
- Studs Lonigan: A Trilogy, ed. Pete Hamill (New York: The Library of America, 2004) ISBN 978-1-93108255-6.
- Dreaming Baseball, eds. Ron Briley, Margaret Davidson, and James Barbour (Kent, OhioKent, OhioKent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
: Kent State University Press, 2007).
External links
- Inventory of the James T. Farrell-Cleo Paturis Papers, The Newberry Library
- James T. Farrell, The Literary Encyclopedia
- "Revolutionary Novelist in Crisis", from The New York Intellectuals by Alan Wald
- Writers: James T. Farrell, Encyclopedia of Trotskyists Online
- James T. Farrell Biography Summary, BookRags