Author Biography
Mary Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25th 1925 in Savannah, Georgia (“Biography”). Considering her parents were devoted Roman Catholics, she attended parochial schools growing up. The O’Connors moved to Milledgeville since her father became diagnosed with disseminated lupus (“Mary” par. 2). While in high school, O’Connor spent her days writing and illustrating books (Anderson 581). Following her father’s passing when she was only fifteen years old, she went to Georgia State College for Women (“Mary” par. 2). There she academically focused on social sciences, though she also edited a literary magazine and sketched cartoons. After graduating in 1945 and being awarded a Rinehart Fellowship at the University of Iowa, Flannery stayed at Iowa and received her Master’s degree in literature (Anderson 582). In 1946, her very first story “The Geranium” was published after printed in Accent (“Biography”). For the next few years she was back and forth between living in Saratoga Springs, New York City, Connecticut, and Georgia. It was in the years 1946 until 1952 that many of her other stories became published, as well as her first novel Wise Blood (Anderson 582). Soon after her writing career took off, she became ill with disseminated lupus. Flannery continued to work under the care of her mother (“Mary” par. 3). O’Connor created a second novel, The Violent Bear It Away, along with “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” (“Biography”) Many of her writings were concentrated on the grotesque. Anderson describes them as, “the examination of the fundamentalist mentality and the cult of amoral modernism from the oldest of Christian perspectives” (582). Her works were featured in prominent literary journals, such as Sewanee Review and Kenyon Review (“Mary” par. 2). Overall, O’Connor won many awards, such as first prize in the O. Henry Memorial Awards in 1957, 1963, and 1965 (Anderson 582). Aside from receiving many grants, she also won the National Book Award in 1972 (“Biography”). Flannery traveled to readings and writing conferences during her illness (Anderson 582). She had a tumor removed in 1964, which unfortunately worsened her condition. She fought the sickness for about ten years until she died on August 3, 1964 (“Biography”).
Novels by O’Connor:
Wise Blood, 1952
The Violent Bear It Away, 1960
Short Stories by O’Connor:
The Geranium, 1946
The Barber, 1947
The Turkey, 1948
The Capture, 1948
The Train, 1948
The River, 1953
The Life You Save May Be Your Own, 1953 *Read it here.
A Stroke of Good Fortune, 1953
A Late Encounter with the Enemy, 1953
A Temple of the Holy Ghost, 1954
A Circle in the Fire, 1954
The Displaced Person, 1954
Good Country People, 1955
The Artificial Nigger, 1955
Greenleaf, 1956
A View of the Woods, 1957
The Enduring Chill, 1958
The Comforts of Home, 1960
The Partridge Festival, 1961
Everything that Rises Must Converge, 1961 *Read it here.
The Lame Shall Enter First, 1962
Revelation, 1964
Parker’s Back, 1965
Wildcat, 1971
The Crop, 1971
The Coat *Read it here.
An Afternoon in the Woods
Nonfiction by O’Connor:
Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose, 1969
The Habit of Being, Letters of Flannery O’Connor, 1979
Works Cited
Anderson, David D. “O’Conner, Mary Flannery.” Dictionary of American Biography. Supplement 7. New York: Scribner’s, 1990. 581-583.
“Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works.” The Library of America. 1995-2007. Literary Classics of the United States, Inc. 8 June 2009 <http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=105§ion=notes>.
“Mary Flannery O’Connor.” Contemporary Literature Criticism Select. Detroit: Gale, Literature Resource Center. Gale. Richard Stockton College of NJ. 6 June 2009 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=richstockcol >.
“Mary Flannery O’Connor Biography.” Biography.com. 2007. A&E Television Networks. 6 June 2009 <http://www.biography.com/articles/Mary-Flannery-O%27Connor-9426760>.
Photo: http://www.nndb.com/people/414/000044282/flannery-crop.jpg
Filed by hayej at June 9th, 2009 under Uncategorized