The Howellsian Volume 3, Number 2 (January, 1999)
As evidenced by the number of abstracts and/or papers on Howells submitted for consideration for presentation at the 1999 ALA conference in Baltimore, interest in Howells continues to thrive. Because ALA has burgeoned in size, however, the Society decided to limit panels on Howells to one, opting, if possible, to mount two panels at the next conference, to be held in San Diego in May, 2000 [Note: This site has been changed to Long Beach, California.]. Entitled "New Chapters in Howells Biography," the Baltimore panel was originally to have included papers by three knowledgeable Howells scholars: Thomas Wortham from UCLA reading "Howells: The Political Life"; John W. Crowley from Syracuse University presenting "The Making of the Dean of American Letters"; and Polly Howells, a Howells descendant, delivering "Mildred Howells: The Dilemma of the Father's Daughter."
The second biennial business meeting of the Society was also to be held in Baltimore with membership and financial reports from Donna Campbell, secretary-treasurer, and a presidential review by the Society's outgoing president, Sally Daugherty. Other items of business to be included were the election of a new vice-president, who will also serve as program chair, and a new secretary-treasurer. The Society's bylaws call for the current vice-president, Jesse S. Crisler, to become the new president.
During the previous six months, Society membership has increased to nearly sixty. Among new members are three more Howells descendants--Joe Howells, his son, Tim Howells, and his nephew, Joseph Howells--all of whom live in Washington state. Should any of members of the Society know of other members of the Howells family who may be interested in joining, please either ask them to get in touch with Jesse Crisler (3127 JKHB, English Department, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602) or forward their names to him so they may receive an invitation to join.
The Society has received proof pages of a forthcoming volume of El Escribano: The St. Augustine Journal of History which will contain an incomplete and hitherto unpublished novel by Howells, The Home-Towners; set in St. Augustine, Florida, where Howells wintered with his daughter Mildred for several years; an introduction by William McGuire, "Howells the Nomad," two previously published Howells essays, "A Confession of St. Augustine" and "Eighty Years and After," and several drawings of St. Augustine by Howells's only son, John Mead Howells, who spent the winter of 1916 with his father and sister in St. Augustine, will accompany the novel. Don Cook, former professor of English at Indiana University, has agreed to review the volume; eventually, members can read that review on either the Howells Society web page (index.html) or the Howells discussion list, maintained by Donna Campbell; members may subscribe to this list by sending a message to [majordomo@gonzaga.edu], leaving the subject line blank, and typing SUBSCRIBE HOWELLS-L as the body of the message; it may also be accessed through a link on the Society web page.
[Note: Minor additions of new information
or changes have been added in brackets.]