The James Jones Literary Society Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 1 Fall 1992
Here are the headlines to this newsletter. Click to go to the article. Board Prepares For Jones Book Award, Writing Scholarship Minutes Of The James Jones Society Annual Board Meeting Letters To The Society: John Bowers Letters To The Society: Jon Shirota
Because he had so much material and spiritual assistance in becoming one of the best-known writers of his World War II generation, James Jones always encouraged and helped young writers whenever he could. After the publication of From Here to Eternity in 1951, Jones largely financed The Handy Colony for aspiring young writers in Marshall, Illinois, which ran for more than a decade and was operated by his patron and mentor, Lowney Handy.
Throughout the following years, Jones continued helping young writers by recommending their work to publishers. And he always was known for his generosity to friends and fellow writers.
Near the end of his life, he returned to the United States from Paris and spent a year as writer-in-residence at Florida International University in Miami. Other considerations made it impossible for him to stay there and teach another year.
But he knew his own debt to those who had helped him along the way. Acknowledging that at the end of Eternity, he said the "book would never have been written" without the people who provided the "necessary nourishment."
Then, of course, the world would not have had the clear picture Jones provided of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as the only major novelist who was an eyewitness to that momemt in history. And Jones himself would never have had the chance to become a writer at all, even though he had the raw material any budding novelist would give an arm and a leg to have. So he thought it was important to help other writers.
"I have always had a saying," Jones wrote to the father of a young man who wanted to become a writer, "that I found it peculiar that parents were willing to shell out for seven years or eight for a kid to become a doctor; but they weren't willing to shell out for the same period for a kid to become a writer. And it takes at least as long to become a writer as it does a doctor."
Now The James Jones Society, a group formed a little more than a year ago to honor the author and his work, is going to continue the practice of encouraging and rewarding writers. At the Second Annual James Jones Conference of Lincoln Trail College in his hometown of Robinson, Illinois, plans were announced for a James Jones Book Award and a James Jones Creative Writing Scholarship.
Jones' daughter, Kaylie, also a novelist, will head the committee to award $2,000 to a writer, just beginning to publish, whose work best represents the spirit of James Jones' belief that writers must "be honest in what (they) accept as existing." American fiction writers will be eligible to submit novels or collections of short stories to Society President J. Michael Lennon by April 1, 1993.
A scholarship for $500 will be awarded to a Crawford County, Illinois, resident who shows an interest in and a talent for creative writing. Lincoln Trail College officials will determine the scholarship recipient.
Both awards will be given at the Third Annual James Jones Conferlence on the 72nd anniversary of his birth, Nov. 6, 1993, at Lincoln Trail College. Specific details for each award will be announced in early 1993.
More information on the award and The James Jones Society may be obtained by writing to Juanita Martin, R.R. 3, Box 82A, Robinson, IL 62454-9524 or by calling her at 618-544-8657. --Ray Elliott
November 14, 1992
The Board Meeting was called to order by President George Hendrick. He related the activities of the Society during the past year and repeated the goals of the Society. He read letters from John Bowers and Jon Shirota, both members of the Writers' Colony, wishing the Society well and telling of the influence of the Colony on their lives.
Juanita Martin gave the treasurer's report. The Society now has 145 charter members from 20 states and Puerto Rico. The expenses of the past year were explained, and the Society has a balance of $3,875.68. It was moved by Kaylie Jones and seconded by Don Sackrider that this be approved. There was a special presentation by Don Sackrider of a check for $1,000 toward the Book Award Fund.
Bhe bylaws of the Society were presented for approval. There was some discussion of material added since the original material was offered. It was moved by Jim Giles and seconded by Don Sackrider that the bylaws be approved. The Society now has a completed set of bylaws for the operation of the Society.
The Board of Directors will now be made up of 11 members and will include Carl Becker, Ray Elliott, James Giles, George Hendrick, Helen Howe, Kaylie Jones, Michael Lennon, Juanita Martin, Don Sackrider, Kathy Stillwell and Jan Sutter. The new officers for the year are Mike Lennon, president; Juanita Martin, treasurer; and Helen Howe, secretary. It was moved by Don Sackrider and seconded by Kathy Stillwell that the board and officers be approved.
There were five standing committees appointed: Membership--Kathy Stillwell and Helen Howe, co-chairs; Nominating--George Hendrick, chair; Awards--Kaylie Jones and Don Sackrider, co-chairs; Publicity--Don Sackrider, chair; and Program--Mike Lennon, chair.
The new president, Mike Lennon, spoke to board members about the need for their participation in the future. New members are always needed, and they are to let the secretary know of people to contact or, better still, contact them themselves. Ideas for the next program, which will be Saturday, Nov. 6, 1993, at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, were also requested. The board seeks input from all members on any ideas they have for the good of the Society.
A discussion of the Book Award was held. Kaylie Jones read from a letter James Jones had written which expresses his attitude toward helping young writers. She feels her father would have been most happy about the plans for this award. The board hopes to present the first award at next year's meeting and also to present the first scholarship award at that time.
The meeting was opened for business from the floor. News was given about books now in progress and also some that are being contemplated about James Jones, the Colony and others showing the Jones influence on other writers.
Carl Becker discussed a memorial to be established in Hawaii near the emplacements that were written about in From Here to Eternity. He was told to go ahead with his inquiries and to report back to the Society on his progress.
It was moved by Don Sackrider that the Society repay Juanita Martin for the expenses she covered before there was any money in the Society account. This was seconded by Helen Howe. Martin said she preferred to consider the money as a donation to the Society. This was acceptable.
It was requested that the names, addresses and committee assignments of all members of the board be made available to all members of the Society. This will be included in the newsletter which will be sent out shortly after the 1992 annual meeting.
It was moved that the meeting adjourn by James Giles, seconded by Don Sackrider. --Helen Howe, Secretary
From John Bowers:
I'm truly sorry I'm not able to make the trip to Robinson to honor both Jim Jones the person and James Jones the artist this year. Mike Lennon suggested that I might send along a few words about the days when Truman was going out and Eisenhower was coming in and the Handy Colony was going strong and I was, by God, there along with Don Sackrider, who unbelieveably went on to fly airplanes and somehow miraculously avoid getting married.
We called it simply The Colony. Jim was thirtysomething and a physical force, with a tender side he sometimes grudgingly exposed, and I don't know of anyone who got within the gates of The Colony who didn't want to speak like him, act like him and write like him.
He had a twang back then so the first item wasn't so hard to do. As for the second, I once nearly killed myself trying to down a jug of martinis. Let me say about the third item that many big books were turned out at The Colony, but none--no matter the length, no matter the passion--ever came near the power of Jones' prose.
Jones was one of a kind. He may be one of the few people I've ever met in life about whom I've never later revised my judgement. I thought Jim Jones was hot stuff back when I first shook his hand in 1952, and I think so now.
He was gritty and tough, slyly sensitive and romantic, and his work stays with you. Prewitt and Warden are as much a part of my consciousness as Holden Caulfield and Mr. Macawber.
Without Lowney Handy, Jim might now have been the person I knew and whose prose continues to affect me and so many others. Those of us who knew Lowney will never forget her. She was a force of nature, a Midwestern tornado, and the combination of her and Jim still rings in my ears. Lowney was the most generous person I ever knew, and I never knew anyone who remained the same after getting to know her.
So here's to all those who wolfed down large-curd cottage cheese, copied Fitzgerald, swam in the lake, rolled cigarettes, got to Terre Haute once a month--and once believed that to be a writer was the greatest thing on earth. I'm sorry I'm not with you (to) honor Jim--but I was there at St. Crispin's Day. --John Bowers, New York, NY
I was a member of the Handy Colony in Marshall. As a matter of fact, I was the last resident there in the summer of 1963. Lowney, as you know, died the following year. Although I stayed at the Colony only that summer, Lowney and I corresponded for many years before I was invited to finish my book, Lucky Come Hawaii.
Lowney once told me that I was the only one with whom she corresponded voluminously. I have stacks of her letters, and she did give me her permission to someday have them published if anyone wanted to do so. I wrote a play about the Colony, but I'm afraid it needs more work.
[It was] thanks to James Jones (whom I had never met) and Lowney that my life changed for the better. After having a couple of novels published, I ventured into playwriting and have had some success. In 1990, I received an award from the John F. Kennedy Foundation, and my play, Lucky Come Hawaii, was produced Off-Broadway in New York. I am now finishing another play.
And so, as you can see, Lowney (and James Jones) surely changed my life from a miserable accountant (IRS Treasury agent) to a more productive and interesting life.
I'm sorry, but I will not be able to make it to Robinson this year. I'm hoping to pass through Marshall in the near future and visit Lowney's grave. (I did dedicate my book to her. Someday, I'll tell you how we--Lowney and I--came to that decision.) --Jon Shirota, Hacienda Heights, CA