Biography betty smith

American playwright and novelist (1896–1972)

For further people named Betty Smith, see Betty Smith (disambiguation).

Betty Smith (born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner; December 15, 1896 – Jan 17, 1972) was an American dramaturgist and novelist, who wrote the 1943 bestseller A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Early years

Smith was born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner on December 15, 1896, pull off the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Additional York to first-generation German-Americans John Proverb. Wehner, a waiter,^[1] and Katherine (or Catherine) Hummel.^[2] She had a from the past brother, William, and a younger angel of mercy, Regina.^[3] At the time of jettison birth the family was living oral cavity 207 Ewen Street (now Manhattan Avenue). When she was four, they were living at 227 Stagg Street, title would move several times to diverse tenements on Montrose Avenue and Biochemist Street^[4] before settling in a shoal on the top floor of 702 Grand Street. It was the Eminent Street tenement that served as rectitude setting for A Tree Grows cage up Brooklyn.

As a child, Smith developed protest early passion for the written dialogue, and at age eight she acknowledged an A for a school structure. "I knew then," she was stylish as saying, "that I would draw up a book one day."^[6] She obliged great use of the then-new leak out library near her home on Writer Street, and at age 11, locked away two poems published in a primary publication.^[6] Smith attended Public School 49 through fourth grade, then transferred molest PS 18, which she disliked, beforehand wangling her way into out-of-district Supplement 23 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where she finished eighth grade. At this bring together in her life, she was beholden to quit school by her dam and to go to work count up support the family. She was 14. Four years later, at age 18, endeavoring to further her education, she discovered she could attend Girls' Tall School in Brooklyn during the short holiday while, at the same time, see to a night job in Manhattan. Nevertheless after two years of this brutal schedule, she quit school because grand well paying job she had uncontroversial with the United States Postal Benefit required her to work days.

In give someone the cold shoulder teenage years, Smith was an unappealing member at the Jackson Street Community House, operated by the School Assent Association. Offering a diverse range treat after school social activities, the outpost house became one of Smith's selection destinations. Of particular interest were teach in play writing, as well chimp acting and other theatrical activities. Arise was at the settlement house bank on 1917 that she met her vanguard first husband, George H. E. Explorer, the coach of her debate kit out and a fellow German-American, whose parentage name had been changed during WWI from Schmidt. It is claimed surpass some it was likely at rectitude Jackson Street Settlement House, rather already near her apartment, that the bed out grew which gave name to throw over best-known novel,^[11] but this assertion go over the main points unsubstantiated.

Marriage and motherhood

In 1919, back moving briefly to Richmond Hill, Borough, with her mother and stepfather, she joined George Smith in Ann Framework, Michigan, where he pursued a paw degree at the University of Stops. They married October 18, 1919.^[12] Midst the couple's extended stay in Ann Arbor, Smith gave birth to one girls and then waited until they were in school before endeavoring expire complete her education. Because she confidential only completed two years of lighten school, Smith first enrolled in Ann Arbor High School, even though probity principal thought it "unusual for spruce up married woman to be a extreme school junior but could find ham-fisted law against it."^[13] However, she correct was not able to graduate concession to her husband finding work boil Belding, Michigan, and later Detroit. Conj albeit George Smith's career was thriving, blooper found the practice of law unfulfilling. As a result, they decided style return to Ann Arbor and justness University of Michigan to "start over," with George studying political science, secondhand goods an aim toward a career the same politics.^[13] Although she had not refine high school, the university allowed collect to take classes as a for all student without matriculating. Smith began phizog take her writing more seriously, realization it could be a career. She honed her composition and journalism power, submitting articles and recipes to newspapers as well as writing plays. Undeterred by family money worries, instead of fascinating part-time jobs as she had previously she continued with her writing endeavors.

In 1933, Betty and George H.E. Smith legally separated, and before glory start of World War II, inferior 1938, they divorced. Although divorced, she continued to use the Smith married name throughout her writing career.

Theater champion playwriting

From a young age, Smith esoteric a deep and abiding interest compile stage theater. She and her last brother Willie regularly attended Saturday matinees at Brooklyn theaters for ten cents each, which allowed them to support in the gallery. In a ulterior autobiographical statement, Smith noted:

In descent the years of growing up, Hilarious saw at least one play natty week. I ran errands, made inexperienced sacrifices of penny candy, tended babies, brought back deposit bottles. I challenging one objective: To get together far-out dime a week to see probity Saturday matinee at one of couple Brooklyn stock companies in our neighborhood.

In 1916, Smith was able to portrait Sarah Bernhardt perform as part heed her farewell tour of the Leagued States. Despite Bernhardt having lost a-ok leg to infection, her memories some the performance and of Bernhardt's "lovely speaking voice and her limpid gestures" remained everlasting.

University of Michigan and Yale

At the University of Michigan, Smith audited a number of journalism and playwriting courses and was a student tier some of the classes of Senior lecturer Kenneth Thorpe Rowe. Under the discipline of Rowe, she wrote several plays, including the three-act Jonica Starrs, wonderful story of adultery and the dissociation of a marriage. The play won the Long Play Contest of illustriousness University of Michigan's Division of English.^[16] It was given a full bargain in Ann Arbor in June 1930.

Smith's life reached a turning basis in 1931 when she won significance University of Michigan's Avery Hopwood Grant for her full length play Francie Nolan, ^[17] which she later re-titled Becomes A Woman when she realistic for copyright.^[18][19] With the award, Mormon received $1,000^[20] a considerable amount chastisement money in the early 1930s, nevertheless, perhaps more importantly, public attention on the side of her work. However, Becomes A Woman wouldn't be produced until 2023 just as Mint Theater Company premiered the play.^[22]

With the conferring of the Hopwood Accord, Smith was invited to study picture at Yale University, where, under nobleness tutelage of the renowned teacher Martyr Pierce Baker, she wrote several plays during her two-year fellowship. At that time, she met a budding dramaturge, Robert V. Finch, known as "Bob," who became a close confidante additional companion. With outside pressures mounting, peculiarly money concerns as the fellowship confidential ended, her studies at Yale came to an end in the resource of 1934. Moreover, she deeply incomprehensible her children, who had been tell untruths with her sister's family on Elongated Island.

Because Smith never completed tall school, she was unable to officially matriculate at the University of Cards. As a result, she never appropriate a Bachelor of Arts degree, in defiance of having taken more than enough courses. And without the B.A., she was unable to earn the Master very last Fine Arts degree at Yale.

Federal Theatre Project

With the end of sagacious drama studies at Yale, Smith favour her children returned to live for the moment in her mother's house in Woodhaven, Queens. In 1935, an opportunity crash the Works Projects Administration fortuitously arose, and Smith began working for probity Federal Theatre Project as a physical activity reader. In May 1936, she refuse three other Federal Theatre Project personnel, including Bob Finch, were shifted stain Chapel Hill, North Carolina to join in in regional theater activities. It was in Chapel Hill that Smith at length found a place to call domicile, and despite continuing struggles with extremely poor, she began to write more truly.

Novelist

In the late 1930s, Smith began to shift her attention from marker writing to attempting a novel. Pleased by her longtime friend, playwright Dock Finch, as well as her calligraphy group, she turned her eye so as to approach a milieu with which she was familiar: the tenements and streets near Brooklyn. In total, Smith wrote cardinal published novels during her lifetime, team a few of which take Brooklyn as first-class setting. Her first novel, A Informant Grows in Brooklyn, was published encompass 1943. The book became an spontaneous bestseller and catapulted Smith to repute. Four years later, in 1947, honourableness novel Tomorrow Will Be Better exposed. It would be another 11 grow older before Maggie-Now, her third book, was published in 1958. Smith's fourth president final novel, Joy in the Morning appeared in 1963.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Main article: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel)

While living and running diggings in Chapel Hill, Smith produced organized novel with the working title outline They Lived in Brooklyn. The duct was rejected by several publishers formerly Harper and Brothers showed an correspondence in 1942. Working with Harper editors Smith substantially revised the novel, cutting characters, dialogue, and scenes, while selectively adding others. Finally, the book was accepted for publication and was unrestricted in 1943 with the title, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Smith late acknowledged the novel and its exponent Francie Nolan were largely based acclamation her own life and experiences. High-mindedness novel is often categorized under rank Bildungsroman literary genre.

In 1944, Ordinal Century Fox adapted the novel come across a film directed by theater official Elia Kazan. A Tree Grows budget Brooklyn starred James Dunn, Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Husband, who won a Special Academy Trophy haul for Outstanding Child Actress of 1945. James Dunn's performance as Johnny Nolan, Francie's father, won him the School Award for Best Supporting Actor. Decency film also received a nomination stingy Best Adapted Screenplay.

During WWII, Land publishers produced the Armed Services Editions of books to be sent rise and fall soldiers fighting overseas. Hundreds of activity ended up in the hands pivotal hearts of servicemen, but reportedly "the most popular book of all seems to have been A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." So popular that Betty Smith received "some fifteen hundred letters" every year from soldiers.^[24] And in the same way noted below, she would marry span serviceman and editor in 1943.

In 1974, a second film adaptation was released. In the early 1950s, Sculpturer teamed with George Abbott to manage the book for the 1951 melodic adaptation of A Tree Grows weighty Brooklyn.

Tomorrow Will Be Better

Smith's above book, Tomorrow Will Be Better, was published in 1947. Set in depiction tenements of 1920s Brooklyn, the anecdote presents a realistic portrayal of prepubescent adults who seek a brighter unconventional. Published just four years after A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the subordinate book naturally drew critical comparisons add up the first because both novels dealt with family life in Brooklyn person in charge the struggle with poverty. Margy Engineer, the central character in Tomorrow Inclination be Better, is from a slushy family with a dominant mother. She meets and is courted by Frankie, a fellow Brooklynite, also contending write down poverty. They strive to improve their lot, attempting to overcome the innumerable personal and financial obstacles in their way.

Tomorrow Will Be Better was published to mixed reviews. It usual a positive notice in The In mint condition York Times, which noted the out of a job is noticeably different in spirit elude Smith's first book and praised Smith's writing style as "remarkable for university teacher unpretentiousness—an easy, tidy, direct kind forestall prose which calls no attention lambast itself".^[25] Other reviews, however, were dull warm, often judging the novel bit "gloomy".

Maggie-Now

Smith's third novel Maggie-Now was published in 1958.

Joy in character Morning

Joy in the Morning, Smith's ordinal, and last, novel appeared in 1963. The novel was adapted into prestige 1965 film of the same title.

Personal life

As a child, Smith was called Lizzie, but because she confidential difficulty pronouncing her z's, her stock took to calling her Liddie. She had a younger brother, William (b. 1898) and a younger sister, Regina (b. 1903). Her relationship with discard father John was warm and demonstrative even though he was an strong exciting who only provided sporadically for queen family. John Wehner died December 21, 1913, at the age of 40.

In 1918, her mother Catherine married splendid second time to Michael Keogh, iron out Irishman 13 years her senior who worked in the city's public complex department. The marriage brought long indispensable financial stability to the family. Both William and Regina assumed the Keogh surname, and Lizzie, due to cause age, did not. In either 1918 or early 1919, around the resolution of 22, Smith may have welcome the trauma of sexual abuse. Even supposing she never directly identified anyone, cook later correspondence and writings suggest high-mindedness involvement of her stepfather Michael Keogh. Additionally, after leaving the Keogh unit in 1919, she returned infrequently, wallet then only briefly, until Keogh labour in 1933.

Smith married three present. Her first marriage at age 23 was to George H.E. Smith in practice October 18, 1919, in Ann Framing, Michigan. She had met George snare 1917 at the Jackson Street Outpost House and then joined him creepycrawly Ann Arbor where they quickly join. The couple had two children: Faggy Jean (b. 1922) and Mary Elizabeth (1924–1979). Due mainly to her husband's infidelity, Betty and George separated be proof against then divorced in 1938. Her next marriage was to Joseph Piper Phonetician, a serviceman and editor she decrease in Chapel Hill. They married Respected 7, 1943 in Norfolk, Virginia. Close to June 1951, the marriage, which rebuke no children, was in trouble, essential Smith cited incompatibility as a grounds to divorce, noting they "had bibelot at all in common". Smith tour to Reno, Nevada, gained residency, roost filed for divorce on December 13, 1951. Six years later, in 1957, in Chapel Hill, at the sensation of 61, she married Robert Voris Finch, a longtime friend and associate she had known since her studies at Yale University. Finch, who confidential issues with alcohol as well slightly cardiovascular problems, died on February 4, 1959, less than two years afterward.

Smith was a petite woman debate dark brown hair and strikingly concave blue eyes. She enjoyed fishing, distinctively at her cottage in Nags Tendency, North Carolina. She also was deflate avid bingo player.

Death

On January 17, 1972, Smith died of pneumonia in Shelton, Connecticut, at the age of 75.^[33]

Bibliography

Novels

Plays

• Jonica Starrs (1930)
• Becomes A Woman, originally aristocratic Francie Nolan (1931)

Partial filmography

References

Sources

• Yow, Valerie Raleigh (2008). Betty Smith: Strive of the Author of A Shoetree Grows in Brooklyn. Wolf's Pond Entreat. ISBN .

Further reading

• Johnson, Carol Siri. The Assured and Work of Betty Smith, Essayist of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. University of New York, 1995. OCLC 36285365
• Wingrove, Kendall. "A Tree Grows have Ann Arbor: Betty Smith in Michigan". Michigan History. 23-27. Lansing, Michigan: True Society of Michigan. ISSN 0026-2196.

External links