Date: 12-10-00
PEOPLE IN AMERICA #1801 - STEPHEN VINCENT BENET, PT. 1
By BARBARA DASHANNCR:
PEOPLE IN AMERICA -- A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE VOICE OF
AMERICA.
EACH WEEK AT THIS TIME, WE BRING YOU A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE WHO
WERE IMPORTANT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. TODAY, DOUG
JOHNSON AND LARRY WEST BEGIN THE STORY OF STEPHEN VINCENT BENET.
HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AMERICAN WRITERS OF THE FIRST PART
OF THE NINETEEN-HUNDREDS.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
A YOUNG WOMAN ONCE ASKED STEPHEN VINCENT BENET FOR HIS ADVICE ON
WRITING. THIS IS WHAT HE SAID:
"I SPENT MY CHILDHOOD ON A SERIES OF ARMY BASES. IF I WERE
WRITING STORIES ABOUT THAT, I WOULD HAVE TO EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS
ABOUT THE ARMY. I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF BEING IN A
WORLD OF YOUR OWN THAT CHILDREN HAVE. I WOULD HAVE TO SHOW YOU
THAT IT IS AS NATURAL FOR AN ARMY CHILD TO MOVE TO A DIFFERENT
BASE EVERY FEW YEARS, AS FOR A CIVILIAN CHILD TO GROW UP IN ONE
TOWN."
IT WAS NATURAL FOR BENET TO TALK ABOUT WRITING -- AND HIS
CHILDHOOD -- AT THE SAME TIME. FOR HIS FAMILY AND EARLY
SURROUNDINGS SHAPED HIS LIFE AS A WRITER PERHAPS MORE THAN USUAL.
VOICE TWO:
STEPHEN VINCENT BENET WAS BORN IN EIGHTEEN-NINETY-EIGHT IN
BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA. HE WAS NAMED IN MEMORY OF HIS
GRANDFATHER, WHO HAD BEEN A GENERAL IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY.
GENERAL BENET ATTENDED THE MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT AND WAS AN EXPERT ON MILITARY LAW. HE SERVED IN THE ARMY BEFORE, DURING
AND AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. STEPHEN'S FATHER ALSO WAS AN ARMY
OFFICER. COLONEL JAMES BENET WORKED ON QUESTIONS OF MILITARY
SUPPLY AND ARTILLERY. STEPHEN WAS BORN WHILE HIS FATHER WAS ON
DUTY AT THE BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA, IRON FACTORY.
VOICE ONE:
STEPHEN VINCENT BENET WAS BORN INTO A WORLD OF HISTORY, POETRY
AND LAUGHTER. HIS PARENTS LOVED TO READ. SO DID HIS BROTHER AND
SISTER, WHO WERE MUCH OLDER THAN HE.
THE BENET HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH BOOKS. STEPHEN'S MOTHER AND
BROTHER WROTE POEMS. HIS SISTER SUPERVISED HIS STUDIES. AND HIS
FATHER TALKED TO HIM ABOUT HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE.
COLONEL BENET ALWAYS COULD FIND A KIND WORD TO SAY OR A JOKE TO
TELL. MANY YEARS LATER, STEPHEN WROTE:
MY FATHER WAS INTERESTED IN EVERYTHING. AND HE WAS THE FINEST
CRITIC OF POETRY I HAVE EVER KNOWN. HE TAUGHT ME MANY THINGS
ABOUT WRITING. . . . AND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS. . . AND
INDEPENDENCE. . . AND THE DESIRE TO KNOW THINGS.
VOICE TWO:
STEPHEN'S CHILDHOOD WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY HAPPY. HE HAD SUFFERED
AN ILLNESS WHEN HE WAS VERY YOUNG AND THIS LEFT HIM WITH A WEAK
HEART. BUT HE PLAYED TENNIS AND FOOTBALL, AND LOVED TO TAKE LONG
WALKS. HIS FAMILY MEMBERS WERE HIS TEAM PLAYERS AND CLOSE
FRIENDS. COLONEL BENET EARNED ENOUGH MONEY TO PROVIDE THE FAMILY
WITH EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED.
BY THE TIME STEPHEN WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, HIS BROTHER AND SISTER
WERE STUDYING AT UNIVERSITIES. THEY INTRODUCED STEPHEN TO THEIR
FRIENDS, SOME OF WHOM WOULD BECOME FAMOUS WRITERS AND ARTISTS.
THESE YOUNG PEOPLE TOOK AN INTEREST IN STEPHEN, FOR HE WAS AN
INTELLIGENT BOY WHO SPOKE WELL. THEY BEGAN TO SEND HIM THINGS TO
READ: BOOKS, AND SOME OF THEIR OWN WRITINGS.
VOICE ONE:
COLONEL BENET'S WORK TOOK HIM TO DIFFERENT PLACES. SO WHILE
STEPHEN WAS STILL A BOY, HE LIVED IN THE STATES OF PENNSYLVANIA,
NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA AND GEORGIA. HE WAS HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO SEE
SOME OF THE PLACES HE HAD READ ABOUT. . . PLACES THAT WERE FAMOUS IN
AMERICAN HISTORY. IN THE WEST, THERE WERE THE MOUNTAINS, RIVERS
AND TOWNS WITH SPANISH NAMES. IN THE NORTH AND SOUTH, THERE WERE
THE BATTLEFIELDS OF THE CIVIL WAR.
VOICE TWO:
STEPHEN ESPECIALLY LIKED THE ARMY BASE IN GEORGIA WHERE HE AND
HIS PARENTS LIVED. THE BASE WAS ALMOST TWO-HUNDRED YEARS OLD.
ALL AROUND THE BUILDINGS, INSIDE AND OUT, WERE THE CANNONS AND
OTHER EQUIPMENT OF PAST BATTLES.
BEST OF ALL, STEPHEN WAS ABLE TO VISIT THE GREAT FARMS AND SMALL
TOWNS WHERE LITTLE HAD CHANGED SINCE THE CIVIL WAR HAD ENDED IN
EIGHTEEN-SIXTY-FIVE. HE LISTENED TO THE TALK OF OLD SOUTHERN
WOMEN WHO REMEMBERED VERY CLEARLY THE YEARS BEFORE THE WAR. MORE THAN FORTY YEARS HAD PASSED. BUT THE OLD WOMEN AND THE OTHERS MADE THE PAST COME ALIVE FOR THE BOY. HE THOUGHT ABOUT WRITING HISTORY.
VOICE ONE:
BY THE TIME STEPHEN WAS FIFTEEN, HE WAS WRITING ALMOST EVERY DAY.
THE SUMMER BEFORE HE ENTERED YALE UNIVERSITY, AT THE AGE OF
SEVENTEEN, HE PUBLISHED HIS FIRST BOOK OF POEMS. THE POEMS WERE
POLITICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL. THEY EXPRESSED HIS THOUGHTS ON
DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM.
AT YALE, STEPHEN MADE LOYAL FRIENDS. HE WAS TRULY INTERESTED IN
PEOPLE. HE WAS A QUIET YOUNG MAN WITH LITTLE COLOR IN HIS FACE.
HE WORE ROUND EYEGLASSES AND DID NOT CARE MUCH ABOUT HIS
CLOTHING. HIS FRIENDS TRIED TO IMPROVE HIS APPEARANCE. AND THEY
TRIED TO SHOW HIM THINGS THAT INTERESTED WEALTHY YOUNG MEN AT
THAT TIME. BUT STEPHEN LIKED SIMPLE THINGS, AND DID NOT CHANGE.
VOICE TWO:
STEPHEN WORKED HARD AT THE UNIVERSITY. HE BECAME EDITOR OF THE
YALE LITERARY MAGAZINE, WHICH THE STUDENTS PUBLISHED. THE
LITERARY MAGAZINE WAS POPULAR WITH STUDENTS AND WRITERS AT OTHER
SCHOOLS, TOO. STEPHEN WROTE POEMS AND ARTICLES FOR THE MAGAZINE,
AND FOR A NUMBER OF OTHER PUBLICATIONS. HE DID THIS IN ADDITION
TO HIS SCHOOL WORK.
STEPHEN LEARNED TO WRITE VERY QUICKLY. OFTEN, HE WOULD WRITE
WHILE ATTENDING CLASSES OR SITTING IN NOISY COFFEE HOUSES. THIS
METHOD DID NOT ALWAYS PRODUCE THE BEST WRITING. BUT IT MADE IT
POSSIBLE FOR STEPHEN TO PRODUCE A GREAT DEAL OF WRITING. BEFORE
HE FINISHED HIS FOUR YEARS OF STUDY AT YALE, MANY PEOPLE HAD READ
HIS POEMS AND STORIES.
VOICE ONE:
STEPHEN WAS ALMOST TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD WHEN HE LEFT YALE. HE NO
LONGER WANTED TO TAKE MONEY FROM HIS FATHER, WHO WOULD SOON
RETIRE WITH A WIFE AND DAUGHTER TO SUPPORT. STEPHENS' BROTHER,
WILLIAM, WAS A SUCCESSFUL WRITER AND EDITOR. YET HE DID NOT EARN
MUCH MONEY. SO STEPHEN WENT TO NEW YORK CITY. IN THE NEXT TWO
YEARS, HE WORKED BRIEFLY IN AN OFFICE. THEN HE RETURNED TO YALE.
THE UNIVERSITY HELPED HIM WIN AN AWARD OF MONEY TO TRAVEL AND
WRITE. THE MONEY GAVE HIM THE CHANCE TO WRITE WHATEVER HE
WANTED. . . WHEREVER HE WANTED. STEPHEN DECIDED TO GO TO PARIS.
VOICE TWO:
IN THOSE YEARS -- THE EARLY NINETEEN-TWENTIES -- MANY YOUNG
AMERICAN WRITERS LIVED IN PARIS. AMONG THEM WERE ERNEST HEMINGWAY
AND F. SCOTT FITZGERALD. STEPHEN FELL IN LOVE WITH THE CITY, AND
WITH AN AMERICAN WOMAN HE MET THERE. THE WOMAN WAS ROSEMARY
CARR. SHE WAS A WRITER FOR A NEWSPAPER IN THE AMERICAN CITY OF
CHICAGO. STEPHEN AND ROSEMARY RETURNED TO CHICAGO TO BE MARRIED.
THE BENETS DECIDED TO MAKE THEIR HOME IN NEW YORK. STEPHEN HAD
WRITTEN TWO BOOKS AND A GREAT MANY POEMS WHEN HE WAS IN PARIS.
HE WOULD SPEND THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WRITING STORIES FOR POPULAR
MAGAZINES. THE STORIES WERE NOT ABOUT SERIOUS PEOPLE OR IDEAS.
THEY WERE STORIES OF THE MOMENT. . . NOT MEANT TO BE REMEMBERED.
VOICE ONE:
STEPHEN OFTEN TOOK LONG WALKS THROUGH THE STREETS OF NEW YORK.
HE DID NOT LIKE THE LIFE HE SAW THERE. HE DID NOT LIKE THE
POLITICS. HE DID NOT LIKE THE METHODS PEOPLE USED TO SUCCEED.
AND HE DID NOT LIKE WHAT HE SAW IN MANY OF THE PEOPLE'S FACES:A
SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS AND NEED.
STEPHEN BEGAN TO THINK BACK TO HIS CHILDHOOD. . . TO THE WAY HE SAW
AMERICA AS A BOY. HE THOUGHT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, AND
ABOUT ITS HEROES. HE DECIDED TO STOP WRITING FOOLISH THINGS. HE
WANTED TO USE HIS STORIES AND POEMS TO SHOW AMERICANS WHAT WAS
GOOD AND VALUABLE IN THEIR CULTURE. HE WANTED TO GIVE THEM
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN.
(THEME)
ANNCR:
YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THE SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM PEOPLE IN
AMERICA. YOUR NARRATORS WERE DOUG JOHNSON AND LARRY WEST. OUR
PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY BARBARA DASH. THE VOICE OF AMERICA
INVITES YOU TO LISTEN AGAIN NEXT WEEK AT THIS SAME TIME WHEN WE
WILL COMPLETE OUR STORY OF THE LIFE OF WRITER STEPHEN VINCENT
BENET.
FOR VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH, THIS IS SHIRLEY GRIFFITH.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/