The 1965 Books
Rif ROY Z. KEMP
The year 1965 has been a remark¬
able one for North Carolina’s creative
workers. Over the years, their work
has eontinued to increase, in both
quality and production. Quantity has
not caused quality to decrease, as evi¬
denced by the many honors and
awards these writers have received and
the recognition which has been given
it.
But the year brought tragedy, too:
both Robert Ruark and Randall Jar¬
rell died, each man being an inter¬
nationally-known figure: and each one
left his mark upon Southern literature's
record.
Randall Jarrell won the Ingram
Merrill Foundation Award in Litera¬
ture for his work in 1964. Robert
Ruark's last novel. The Honey Ha, Iyer
(McGraw-Hill; $5.95) hit the best¬
seller list. This was an explosive novel
about a successful middle-aged Ameri¬
can writer.
Heather Ross Miller's The Edge of
the Woods was selected by the book¬
list committee of the National Associa¬
tion of Independent Schools as one
of the 10 best adults' books for the
pre-college reader.
Professor Brainerd Currie of Duke Uni-
verity received the First Triennial COIF
Award, given in recognition of pre-eminent
scholarship in law by the Order of the
COIF, for his book Selected Essays on the
Conflicts ol Laws, published in 1963.
Glen Rounds’ Rain in the Woods and
Julian Schccr‘% Rain Makes Applesauce were
among the 1964 Notable Children’s Books,
selected by the American I ibrary Associa¬
tion.
Rain Makes Applesauce was also a runner-
up in the Newbcrry-Caldccott Medal com¬
petition. an award given to the most dis¬
tinguished children’s book each year. George
Schcer's Yankee Doodle Bos was selected
”for special excellence in portraying Ameri¬
ca's past" by the 10th Annual Rdison Awards
committee, given by the Thomas Alva Fdi-
son Foundation for distinguished contribu¬
tions in mass media for education and ser¬
vice to youth.
Peter Taylor and Leon Rookc were repre¬
sented in the Prize Stories
о/
1065: The
O. Henry Awards, as was Carson McCullers,
a one-time resident of Fayetteville. Taylor’s
story. "There.” appeared originally in Ken¬
yon Review, and Rookc’s. “If Lost Return
to the Swiss Arms.” appeared in Carolina
Quarterly. “Sucker.” an early story of Miss
THE BTATE. January 15. 1966
McCullers’, was published in the Saturday
Eve nine Post.
Gerald W. Johnson’s Communism: An
American's I'iew and Glen Rounds' Rain
in the Woods and Other Small Matters
were two of the five books which received
Junior Book Awards, given by the Boys’
Clubs of America, chosen by the 1.800
members who took part in the decision¬
making.
String, Straight-Edge and Shadow: The
Story of Geometry, by Julia H. Diggins. il¬
lustrated by Corydon Bell, was selected for
special honors in the Children's Spring Fes¬
tival by the New York Herald-Tribune.
Jack Trawick and Chester Davis, of the
Winston-Salem Journal, and John Dc Mott,
of the Charlotte Observer, were the Wil¬
liam T. Polk Awards winners for business
writing.
Professor Fletcher M. Green won the
Thomas Jefferson Award for 1965, given
annually to a member of the UNC faculty
whose life is in the spirit of Thomas Jef¬
ferson. The award was presented by Flarll
McConnell, of Hobc Sound. Florida.
Peggy Hoffmann’s Shift to High (West¬
minster Press; S3. 50). a juvenile book which
tells of an odyssey into independence by
three boys, was a Junior Literary Guild se¬
lection.
Deborah F.ibel of Greensboro received the
Arthur Davidson Ficke Award ($200) for
"Homecoming," a poem, given by the Poetry
Society of America.
Frncst Hostcttlcr. of Statesville. Melrose
Wheeler, of Stcdman, and Sallic Nixon, of
Stanley, were winners in a short story and
poetry contest sponsored by the leading
writer’s magazine. Writer's Digest.
And Look A way. Look Away, by Ben
Haas, is scheduled lor film production by
Dan Leeds, a New York independent film
producer.
The non-fiction production continues to
lead in the writing field, as it has been
doing for several years. However, outstand¬
ing works of fiction arc being produced by
Tar Heel writers.
The Scarlet Thread, by Doris Betts
(Harper & Row; $5.95) is a story of a
family whose rise in material fortune is
marred by an inherited flaw.
Slowly B\ Thy Hand Unfurled. by Ro¬
mulus Linncy (Harcourt. Brace A World:
$4.50), a second novel, is concerned with
rapacious mother love, and tells of a woman
who faces the dark consequences of her
impact on her husband and children.
Anne Tyler's The Tin Can Tree (Al¬
fred A. Knopf; $4.95), another second novel,
tells the story of how a small boy comes to
terms with his smaller sister's death. It is a
novel which is filled with heartbreak and
wonder.
The Summer Land, by Burke Davis (Ran¬
dom House: $4.95), is another wonderful
story concerned with the life of a young
North Carolina boy, set against a locale
which includes the tobacco wars of 1916.
Fred Chappell’s The Inkling (Harcourt,
Brace A World: $3.95) is also a second
novel. Having a North Carolina locale also,
it is concerned with an abnormal but fasci¬
nating cast of characters and abounds in
dark symbolism.
Time Was. by John Foster West (Random
House: $4.95). is a first novel, an earthy
story about life in western North Carolina.
It tells the story of a young girl who marries
an older man with children older than she,
Guy Owen's Ballad of the Him Flam
Man (Macmillan; $4.95) is a second novel.
It is laid in the Cape Fear section of North
Carolina, and has been characterized as
being both serious and comic. The 20th
Century-Fox organization has purchased this
book for movie production.
Jacob's Ladder, by Kathryn Johnston
Noyes ( Bobbs-Mcrrill; $5.00). is also a first
novel. I .aid in the South, it tells the story
of a Negro and is concerned with his strug¬
gle to move and function in today's racially-
troubled world.
Destination Doubtful, by William O. Tur¬
ner (Ballantinc: 40c). is a paperback West¬
ern story which tells how a sheriff returns
to town to discover that his sister is being
held hostage by bandits.
Billy Graham’s World Aflame (Double-
day: $3.95) has reached the best-seller list
and being widely-acclaimed. The book is a
personal and inspiring evaluation of the
world's despair and of mankind’s hope.
John A. Redhead. Jr. published Guidance
From Men of God (Abingdon Press; $2.50).
This hook contains 15 messages about Bible
personages: and based on episodes from the
lives of these men. Dr. Redhead brings
these lives into better perspective for his
readers.
Professor George Abcrncthy's Living Wis¬
dom From the World's Religions (Holt;
$6.50) is a volume of meditations with
emphasis on variety, accessibility, and use¬
fulness.
Living Patiently, by J. Allen Blair
( Loizeaux Brothers; $3.50). is a devotional
study of the Book of Job.
The Suffering Servant, by Carlyle Mar-
ney (Abingdon Press: $2.00). contains eight
Holy Week meditations on the suffering
servant poem, Isaiah 52: 13-53: 12. In this
interpretation, understanding suffering is the
key to Christian faith.
Christian Rile and Christian Drama in
the Middle Ages, by
О.
B. Hardison. Jr.
(Johns Hopkins Press; $8.00). contains es¬
says on the origin and early history of mod¬
ern drama.
Hans Hillcrhrand'x The Reformation
(Harper A Row; $5.75) is a narrative his¬
tory related by contemporary observers and
participants.
The Act of Becoming, by Robert W. Hites
(Abingdon Picss:
$2.50»,
is an interpre¬
tation of the insights and findings of psy¬
chology and social psychology as they apply
to the teaching program of the local church.
James T. ( leland’s Preaching to be Un¬
derstood (Abingdon Press; $2.75) is a
volume which grew out of the Warrick Lec¬
tures on Preaching, delivered by the author
in 1964 in his native Scotland. He is pres¬
ently James B. Duke professor of preach¬
ing and Dean in the Chapel. Duke Uni¬
versity.
Anthony S. Abbott's Shaw and Chris¬
tianity (Seabury Press: $4.95) is a study of
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