The Writings of James Stephens: Variations on a Theme of Love

195 Pages·1979·16.571 MB·English

by  Patricia McFate (auth.)

THE WRITINGS OF JAMES STEPHENS
By the same author
THE DREAM PHYSICIAN, by Edward Martyn (editor)
EDUCATION FOR THE ITINERANT STUDENT
JAMES STEPHENS
Photograph by courtesy of Mrs Iris Wise
THE WRITINGS OF
JAMES STEPHENS
Variations on a Theme of Love
Patricia 11cFate
© Patricia McFate 1979
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1979 978-1-349-16029-7
All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without permission
First published 1979 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
London and Basingstoke
Assoeiated eompanies in Delhi
Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos
Melbourne New rork Singapore Tokyo
Typeset in (;reat Britain hy
SANTYPE LTD, SALISBURY
British Library Cataloguing in PublicatioD Data
McFate, Patricia
The writings of James Stephens
I, Stephens, James, b, 18 82~Criticism
and interpretation
I. Title
821 ',9'1 2 PR6037,T4 Z
ISBN 978-1-349-16029-7 ISBN 978-1-349-16027-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-16027-3
This book is sold suhjeet
to the standard eonditions
01 the Net Book Agreement
For Mary Bliss McFate
and Warren Cheston
Contents
Acknowled,gements x
Chronology xu
Stephens: the Man, the Writer, the Enigma
2 The Dance of Life 23
3 The Quest that Destiny Commands 58
4 Make it Sing/Make it New 88
5 The Art and Craft of Prose 120
6 The Marriage of the Contraries 142
Notes and Riferences 155
Selected Bibliography 168
Index of Works by James Stephens 173
General Index 178
Acknowledgements
Many people have contributed to this book, but none so
much as Iris and Norman Wise. Their kindness and help
have been a constant encouragement. Indeed, the book would
not have been possible without the aid of Iris Wise; she
has been most generous with her time and her information.
Professor Richard Finneran has also been obliging to me
in many ways. It was through his good offices that I first
met Mr. and Mrs. Wise, and I wish to thank him particularly
for that courtesy. His edition of the Stephens Letters has
been consulted frequently in the writing of the book; and
his chronology is one of the sources for the one which appears
in this volume.
The initial research for this book has been aided immeasur-
ably by Dr. Lola Szladits, Curator, the Henry W. and Albert
A. Berg Collection of the New York Public Library. Professor
Daniel Murphy has offered invaluable assistance with my
research in Ireland. Professor Richard Ellmann has served
as mentor, critic of my work, and good friend for many
years.
Others who, in the past and present, have given freely
of their time and to whom I am indebted include M. L.
Rosenthal, Liam Miller, Maurice Harmon, William Feeney,
Donald Torchiana, the late John Gordan, Vivian Mercier,
Janet Fendrych, Mrs. Thomas Bodkin, Mervyn Wall, Marjorie
Wynn, Michael Hanlon, Kenneth Goldstein, James McNulty,
Acknowledgements Xl
and David Parson. My indebtedness to Sarkes Tarzian IS
beyond recompense.
For her participation in the bibliographical aspects of the
study, lowe a debt of gratitude to Doretta Fuhs. I wish
to thank Pam Gennusa, Loretta Dentley, and Miriam Boykin
for cheerfully typing the many drafts of these chapters.
The research support p.rovided by the Office of the Chancel-
lor and the Graduate College of the University of Illinois
at Chicago Circle and the staff support in the Office of
the Vice Provost of the University of Pennsylvania are grate-
fully acknowledged. The Staffs of the Berg Collection, the
National Library of Ireland, Newberry Library of Chicago,
Northwestern University Library, and the British Museum
have been consistently helpful.
The people to whom this book is dedicated provided the
patience and understanding necessary to a writer. My mother
and father encouraged me to begin my first studies of James
Stephens fifteen years ago. Since that time, my mother and
her family have given me more love and attention than
I deserve. Warren Cheston is, in a real sense, responsible
for the best parts of this book.
For permission to quote from the printed works and manu-
scripts of James Stephens, I am indebted to Mrs. Iris Wise;
the Society of Authors, London; and the Henry W. and
Albert A. Berg Collection, the New York Public Library,
Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Quotations from Letters
rif James Stephens are reprinted by permission of Macmillan,
London and Basingstoke. "And It Was Windy Weather"
is reprinted with the permission of Macmillan Publishing
Company, Inc., New York.